Giorgos Giakoumakis has been back in amongst it for Celtic as they welcome Championship side Morton to Parkhead on Saturday to get their Scottish Cup campaign up and running for another season.
The semi-finalists last season will be hoping to reach the final and get their hands of the trophy for the first time since 2020 when they defeated Hearts in a penalty shootout at an empty Hampden during the coronavirus pandemic. Dougie Imrie's Morton side will go into the tie down on confidence after failing to secure a win in their last five games in all competitions.
Giakoumakis was missing ahead of their win over St Mirren and that fuelled transfer speculation but but that was just down to an injury and he's been spotted back in the thick of it. During a pre-match press conference earlier today Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou admitted he may shuffle his pack to give more of the fringe players a run. He revealed Cameron Carter-Vickers' injury situation has improved but he won't be risked against the Ton. He told reporters: "Cameron Carter-Vickers has improved but we will leave him out."
Here's what we spotted from training:
Grey Taylor returns
The Scotland full-back was taken off with a hamstring injury during the derby against Rangers earlier this month. Taylor, who has been a standout this season, looked to be going through some light training at Lennoxtown earlier today. Postecoglou did not address Taylor's situation in his press conference, however it is unlikely he will be risked given the important fixtures coming Celtic's way in next couple of weeks. The 25-year-old will be targeting a starting berth in the Viaplay Cup final against Rangers at the end of next month, but it is expected he will be brought back into the fold gradually.
Johnston not feeling the cold
With the temperatures plummeting across Scotland many of the Celtic players were spotted with hats, snoods and trousers on for training today - but not Alistair Johnston. The Canadian full-back was pictured in his shorts as he put in a shift at Lennoxtown ahead of Celtic's cup tie with Morton on Saturday lunchtime. Johnston will expect to start the game after putting in a solid display against St Mirren in the Premiership win on Wednesday evening.
Giak is back
The Greek striker has been heavily linked with a move away from Celtic Park after Record Sport reported his contract talks broke down but it looks as if he will still have a part to play while remaining on the books. He was spotted at training putting in some hard graft ahead of the Morton cup tie where he is expected to lead the line. Giakoumakis missed the St Mirren game in midweek through injury but according to Postecoglou he has shaken off the niggle. He said: "Giakoumakis trained so we will see how he pulls up."
The all-seeing eye
Ange Postecoglou kept an eye on his players during what looked like a light training session at Lennoxtown earlier this morning. He told reporters ahead of the game that changes could be made with a number of players set to miss out through injury. Postecoglou said: "Anthony Ralston had a bit of a setback in training on Thursday so he will miss out. He had a back complaint which kept him out for two or three weeks. He was on the bench on Wednesday and it still didn't feel right so he has had a scan. I don't know the outcome yet. We don't think it's serious but it might put him back another week or two. Benjamin Siegrist has missed the last two or three weeks with a calf complaint but he is back in training but too early for Saturday."
Jota frustrated?
Portuguese winger Jota has been a revelation since pulling on the green and white hoops, but he may cut a frustrated figure after only netting once in his last 11 for Celtic. Despite the shortage of goals he has still produced some magic moments for Postecoglou's side throughout this season. He'll be looking to get back on track when Greenock Morton visit Celtic Park on Saturday and turn that frown upside down.
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