Callum McGregor's powers of recovery praised as 'vital' Celtic skipper tipped for quick injury comeback
Celtic captain has been tipped to make a quick return from injury
Celtic fans have been told not to panic over Callum McGregor’s injury after the inspirational skipper’s remarkable powers of recovery were hailed by one of his former teammates.
The 32-year-old was a shock absentee from Celtic’s starting line-up in last weekend’s shootout win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final, and manager Martin O’Neill confirmed post-match that he could be without his captain for a period of time due to a recurrence of an injury that first troubled him last season.
Currently trailing league leaders Hearts by five points at the top of the Scottish Premiership with nine games to go, the loss of McGregor is viewed as a major blow to the defending champions' hopes of reeling in Derek McInnes’ side. However, former Celtic teammate Greg Taylor believes the midfielder could spring a surprise and return to the squad sooner rather than later.
"There was a game against Auchinleck Talbot [in the Scottish Cup] and Cal played in that one,” Taylor told Premier Sports. “There was a few occasions where he played and he could maybe have come out and you can give him a breather. It's hard getting that balance. Because as a player there’s nothing better being in that rhythm of play and recover, play and recover. But that can tip over into you getting an injury, and Callum is too important a player for Celtic to have injured.”
A virtual ever present at Parkhead this season, some pundits had queried if the club’s overreliance on McGregor this season had played a part in his as yet unspecified injury. However, Taylor admits it’ll have been hard to hold back his former teammate, due to his desire to play in every game.
"He's a guy that wants to play every game,” said Taylor. “He's played every game for five, six, seven seasons. He is so vital. One thing I know with Callum is that if it's a six week injury, it'll be a two week injury, if it is a four week injury, it'll be a four day injury. He has a really high pain threshold. I'm sure he'll hopefully be back sooner rather than later.”
Taylor, who brought his own Parkhead stay to an end in the summer by joining Greek giants PAOK, also had time to reflect on his career post-Celtic with Premier Sports, telling them: “We’re [PAOK} in a good place. We are in the cup final, which is at the end of April, and just a couple of points behind AEK Athens in the league. We are right there, and we go to a split as well. Top four teams home and away - it’s exciting for us.
“I’ve grown into it. The manager rotates, so everyone within the squad can say they’ve played a part in the success we’ve had. I don’t know if that is a foreign thing, or just our manager currently. But it’s been the way, and to be fair we’ve handled it well because we’ve had a right bad run of injuries, similar to Celtic, in the last few weeks. We’ve dug on in there.
“The language [level he’s at it] is basic. I can get by with a ‘good morning, ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’. Most people speak English, so I’ve been pretty lucky here. The manager also does his team talks and his tactics in English. The food is amazing, all fresh. You can go to the bakers and butchers, I know you get that back home, but the quality of food is better. I’ve found a new love for cooking.”
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