LEIGH GRIFFITHS is on stand-by for a sensational Champions League return for Celtic.
The 28-year-old Scotland international hitman hasn’t kicked a ball in competitive action for the Hoops in 2019 following his well-publicised battle with depression.
However, Neil Lennon has been delighted at the way Griffiths has applied himself as he attempts to get up to speed for the new campaign and the club’s quest for the ninth successive crown.
Scotland’s ruling power also have designs on retaining both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup as they build on the phenomenal treble treble success.
The Great European Adventure that can lead to the money-spinning group stages is about to kick off, too.
And the striker underlined he has lost none of his goalscoring instincts during the champions’ three-game work-out in Austria and Switzerland.
He claimed six strikes – coincidentally the same total he amassed during last term – including four in the 9-1 victory over the St Gallen Under-21 side during the week.
Vakoun Issouf Bayo, January’s £2million purchase, is a doubt for the opening Champions League qualifier against FK Sarajevo in Bosnia on Tuesday
That could open the door for at least a place on the substitutes’ bench for Griffiths who is admittedly short of match fitness following seven months on the sidelines.
Lennon has been paying close attention to the progress of the player.
The Hoops gaffer, speaking to the Evening Times, admitted: “He got four in the St Gallen game and it is what he is good at. He keeps working away and he scored two brilliant goals on that occasion.
“He scored an amazing goal and even when he lobbed the goalkeeper, it was just instinctive.
“So, it is nice to have that sort of player back in and around us again.”
