Nir Bitton has not made a Scottish Premiership appearance for Celtic since February but he is set to boost Brendan Rodgers.
Nir Bitton is back. Well, almost.
The Israeli international has spent the last eight months on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in February.
But, according to the Daily Record, Bitton took part in first-team training for the first time since the winter on Friday, stepping up his recovery ahead of Celtic’s clash with high-flying Hibernian on Saturday afternoon.
The question is: how will Rodgers decide to use the 26-year-old between now and the end of the season.
Bitton is a valuable and versatile player who favours a defensive midfield role but showed in the early months of last season that he is capable of filling in at centre-half, too.
But Celtic brought in new players for both positions during the summer. Youssouf Mulumbu – the match-winner for Kilmarnock on the day Bitton suffered his injury – was signed to provide backup to Scott Brown, suggesting the Israel international could now be third in the midfield pecking order.
The Hoops have struggled defensively at times but the presence of Filip Benkovic, a loan signing from Leicester City, means Bitton is far from guaranteed a place at the back.
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