Celtic handed huge boost as early Saints team news emerges, Ange will be buzzing - opinion

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has been handed a huge injury boost ahead of the Hoops’ upcoming Premiership meeting with St. Johnstone on Sunday.

That’s according to a report by the Glasgow Evening Times, who claim that, despite Matt O’Riley limping off after playing just 15 minutes of Celtic’s 2-1 win over Rangers last weekend, the central midfielder has now returned to training at Lennoxtown – something which appears to suggest the 21-year-old will be available for the visit of St. Johnstone this weekend.

Concerning the Denmark U21 international’s knock, the report states: “Matt O’Riley is back in Celtic training despite having limped off against Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday… and looks to be available for St Johnstone this weekend.”

Considering the revelation O’Riley has been for Celtic since his £1.5m move to Glasgow in the January transfer window, the fact that the 21-year-old has already returned to training is sure to have left Postecoglou buzzing.

Indeed, over his 11 Premiership outings this term, the £405k-rated midfielder has been in exceptional form for the Bhoys, having already bagged one goal, provided three assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 2.6 key passes – the third-most in the league – per game.

These returns have seen the former Fulham and MK Dons playmaker average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.34, ranking him as the seventh-best player in the top flight of Scottish football so far this season.

As such, while a home fixture against the 11th-placed Saints should not cause Celtic too many problems on Sunday, considering the Scottish Cup semi-final double header coming up for the Bhoys, the news that O’Riley does