5 Celtic Players With Most to Gain Coming Off Winter Break

Jozo Simunovic, D

Celtic went from nearly offloading their Croatian central defender to seeing him as a lynchpin of future success for the club. His pairing with Eric Sviatchenko has been a vast improvement over what was seen over the past few years.

However, Simunovic is still only moths away from a full return from a devistating knee injury. That truth has led manager Brendan Rodgers to be cautious with his center back at times. Whether it is switching formations or inserting Mikael Lustig in to the central defender role, Simunovic has seen more time off than any other mainstay in Celtic’s defense.

It likely means that the three weeks spent off and the few weeks in Dubai have been good news for Simunovic. The rest, ease of training in warmer weather and no fixture congestion to worry about are all good news for someone still on the road to full recovery from a knee injury.

With the Scottish Premiership title all but wrapped up and a hopeful run at a domestic treble a realistic proposition, this is a perfect time for Simunovic to put to rest any ideas that he won’t be a long-term option for the Bhoys.