It is safe to say that Celtic fans have not had much to cheer this season. The return of Martin O'Neill, replacing the clearly out-of-depth Wilfried Nancy, has been a rare bright spot for the Hoops. But other than that, this campaign has been filled with one piece of bad news after another. And unfortunately, it is showing no sign of slowing down.
Recently, it is believed that the club had to pull the plug on one transfer, for Jocelin Ta Bi, after it emerged during the medical that he was carrying an injury which would require surgery. Now, it looks like a deal has been terminated, but this time, it is a player returning to Celtic.
The player in question is none other than Adam Montgomery. He had been sent on loan to Livingston for the season in the summer.
But Montgomery has endured an injury-riddled campaign, with the latest of them believed to be a season-ending one. As a result, his loan deal has been terminated and he has been sent back to Celtic. As reported by The Herald, David Martindale said:
"Adam is probably going to be out for another 12 to 16 weeks, but Celtic have agreed to terminate the loan agreement. That has freed up the finances for us to go and find something else. They didn't have to do that. I think they're doing that out of morals."
Celtic terminate another agreement due to season-ending injury
That is certainly commendable on the part of Celtic. Then again, it is the right thing to do. Keeping Montgomery with Livingston until the end of the season would not have done the youngster any good either, if he is not going to be available at all. This should hopefully help with his rehab.
Now, there needs to be a discussion regarding Montgomery's injury history as well. The youngster had broken into the first-team picture at 18 years of age during Ange Postecoglou's debut season at Celtic. But soon, he would find himself out on loan and has been caught up in that never-ending cycle since then.
Montgomery has not been helped by his fitness record. He has picked up constant injuries for the last several years and has never played consistent football as a result. Now 23 years of age, this is an important phase of his career and it is hard to imagine that he has much of a future at Parkhead.