Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths will be back in training this week, the club have revealed.
The 28-year-old has missed the last three and a half months after being given a leave of absence due to personal reasons.
Fans are delighted that Griffiths is back in the first-team fold to help Celtic clinch an eighth consecutive league title:
Our best striker on his way back, brilliant news @Leighgriff09 ??✊?
— G r e g g ® (@ham_n_egg) 27 March 2019
Absolutely wonderful news ?.
Welcome home, Griff, we’ve missed you.
— Labour Celtic Fans (@Labour_Celts) 27 March 2019
Brilliant news. Can’t wait to see him back on the pitch! We’ve missed him big time ??
— Murray (@DMMacdonald96) 27 March 2019
Class
— Muiry (@MuiryCeltic) 27 March 2019
Superb stuff . Welcome back Griff
— Derek (@TheBhoyMoz) 27 March 2019
Absolutely delighted to see the wee man back. Hopefully he’s on the park soon doing what he does best. Welcome back leigh ???
— Ciaran O Caorthanain (@OCaorthannain) 27 March 2019
So glad he’s feeling better he’s been missed.
— Daniel Tobin (@dant66) 27 March 2019
Pretty much guaranteed he’s gonna end up scoring the winner in the Scottish Cup final.
— Aidan Ritchie (@AidanRitchie27) 27 March 2019
Magic!!!! Can’t wait to see you back banging them in ??
— Stephen Knox (@sknox7) 27 March 2019
You’ve got this Super Leigh ??
— Wolfman Glasgow (@wolfman_glasgow) 27 March 2019
It may be a while before the Scottish international is back in action as he will need to build up his fitness before making his return.
Despite the recent management change at Celtic Park, the title must surely be secure if Celtic win the old firm Derby this weekend and you can still pick up the best value bets using sites like Spin Sport where big favourites Celtic are available for the win at 4/5, with the bookies surprisingly offering the best price for a Rangers win at a fat 15/4 with a draw at shorter odds of only 14/5.
Still, the return of the popular Griffiths is the feel-good story of the week. It is always a positive when a player recovers from some of the issues the striker so bravely faced and spoke of in the media and he should give interim manager Neil Lennon some added firepower up front in the closing weeks of the season.
Odsonne Edouard, Oliver Burke and Timothy Weah have certainly contributed in front of goal but Griffiths is a natural finisher who can help grab three points in tight games.