Opinion: Celtic injury could lead to 29-year-old's return to Hoops squad

Celtic suffered an injury blow on Tuesday when Stephen Welsh reportedly suffered a groin injury whilst playing for Scotland under-21s against Kazakhstan.

Welsh might nor have started for the Hoops against Rangers on Sunday, but he would have been a useful option to have on the bench, which obviously won’t be the case if he is ruled out of the game.

No doubt Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou will give an update about the player’s fitness this week, but if Welsh is out of the derby then there could be a return to the Hoops squad for centre-back Christopher Jullien.

The 29-year-old is now fit again after being out injured for more than a year with a serious knee injury, but he hasn’t featured in the Celtic squad in recent weeks.

He made his long awaited return for the Hoops as a second-half substitute against Raith Rovers last month, was on the bench for the next game the Hoops played, against Dundee, but he has only been in the squad once since then, in the Scottish Cup against Dundee United.

If Welsh is out of the trip to Ibrox though, there is a real chance that Jullien will be back in the Hoops squad for the game.

That is because of the relative lack of numbers at centre-back for the Hoops, as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt and Nir Bitton are the only other options that will likely be available.

It would be a big test for Jullien if the Hoops suffered another injury and the player was pitched into the derby. After all, he has played only 16 minutes of football for the Bhoys in over a year.

However, he seems to be fit and available for selection, as it was recently reported that he both played and scored for the Hoops in a bounce game against Motherwell last week.

There is a big difference in playing in a bounce game