Emotional Christopher Jullien has paid a growing tribute to supporters after overcoming his injury nightmare.
The defender made his return as a second half substitute in Celtic's 3-0 Scottish Cup victory over Raith Rovers earlier this month with his family in attendance.
The Frenchman spent an incredible 409 days on the sidelines and has watched Celtic transform into a new power under Ange Postecoglou.
And he admits his surgeon was stunned by the severity of the knee injury he suffered against Dundee United in 2020.
Jullien told Celtic TV: "[It was] unbelievable. Pleased with the ovation that all the fans gave to me. That was really good.
"I didn’t expect that ovation at all. When you work for 409 days you just go day-by-day and don’t think about the end goal.
"To just have that welcome back was amazing. Just to get my feet on the pitch got me emotional so I just thank everyone again for that welcome back."
The 28-year-old picked up the injury in a 3-0 win over Dundee United back in December 2020.
He added: "That was something else.
"First, the contact with the post is something that just happens. Even my surgeon was like, 'This is not an injury for a footballer'.
"The trauma that my knee had, that was really difficult. He's never seen a footballer with that.
"This long wait for nine or ten months to touch the ball and working on your strength to come back and help the team, that's something that's just indescribable.
"It was just so long, but at the end of the day, you just look at all the videos when I was starting to just walk, something easy.
"But it's at the end of the tunnel that you just realise how hard it was.
"I'm at the end of the tunnel and I hope now that I'm going to feel good for the rest of my life."
After making his comeback, Jullien tweeted saying: "409 days since the last time I was subbed in Paradise. It's been a very challenging time in my life. I thought about all the people that helped me through this journey, specially my family and friends.
"Thankful to be part of such a club and feeling all the love from the best supporters. Now let's go!"
