Charlie Grant’s long road to recovery from injury moves up a gear tonight when Celtic face Drogheda United at United Park tonight.
Grant has barely played since starring for Scotland at the u-17 European Championship finals in Poland in the summer of 2006 after helping Celtic’s youth side to the domestic double.
Darren O’Dea and Paul Caddis have graduated from that team through to the Celtic first team while Scott Cuthbert and Simon Ferry are now at Swindon (Ferry on loan) with Mark Millar is out on loan at Ujpest Dozsa.
Grant looked as likely as anyone from that side to make the breakthrough and was compared to Neil Lennon for more than the physical resemblence.
Alongside Ferry in the middle of the park the two players looked destined for great things before injury intervened.
Ferry’s ankle problems have been resolved but Grant’s injury has been less straightforward involving the ‘pubic bone’ and growing issues.
For a while Steven Gerrard suffered similar issues, as did Simon Lynch and Liam Miller, and it’s to be hoped that Grant can go on to make some sort of career in the game.
Recovering from losing over three years of football at a critical stage in his development is asking a lot of Grant but he’s clearly being given every chance by Celtic to recover from injury.
Scott Brown and Thomas Rogne are the biggest names on show against Drogheda but any supporter that watched the vintage youth side of 2005/2006 will be pleased to see Grant back in action.
Celtic squad: Dominic Cervi, Daniel Giordano; Richie Towell, Grant Gallagher, Declan Gallacher, B Tolmie, Danny Lafferty, Anton Kurakins, James Forrest, Scott Brown, Kuijanis Vallers, James Keatings, Charlie Grant, Scott Fitzharris, Greg Spence, Paul McGowan
Evening Herald report on Killie match