Celtic handed massive boost as trio return to training

Celtic have been handed a massive boost heading into their Europa League Group Stage clash against LOSC Lille.

It appears that three Celtic players who had been previously missing from full first-team training of late have returned today. The fans should be absolutely delighted to know that Odsonne Edouard, Hatem Abd Elhamed, and Nir Bitton have returned to full training with the first-team squad ahead of Thursday’s match.

The trio have been sidelined due to their respective quarantine periods due to testing positive and complications stemming from the recent international break, but were pictured in training today taking part in the squad’s exercises and drills.

They can be seen in images tweeted from the club’s official Twitter account today:

Abd Elhamed and Bitton both were out for a stretch after both tested positive during the international break while playing for the Israel national team.

As reported by Sky Sports, Neil Lennon has already confirmed that both Odsonne Edouard have travelled with the squad to France. Vasilis Barkas is also back after a back problem kept him out against Aberdeen.

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Likely the biggest news of the three is definitely Odsonne Edouard, who had previously been seen returning to limited training last week, finally returning to a full training regimen. Neil Lennon will desperately need him to perform up to his old form against a Lille side that has outscored opponents 15-3 in their last six matches.

This match comes as Celtic have experienced two defeats and a draw in their previous three matches, serving as quite the speed bump early in the campaign for their tenth-straight title. The squad are set to face Lille Thursday followed by a Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen on Sunday.

After Sunday’s 3-3 league draw against Aberdeen, the club will likely be seeking some level of revenge in this weekend’s match.