SCOTT BROWN has emphasised there will be NO pressure on team-mate Leigh Griffiths when he returns to training, as CQN reported earlier this week.
The Scotland international striker has been missing since December due to “personal problems”, but is now ready to resume his rehabilitation with his Celtic colleagues.
Griffiths, 28, is poised to begin a “phased return” to his duties at the club’s Lennoxtown training complex, in conjunction with the club’s medical and sports science staff, as he eyes up an eventual first-team comeback.
Interim manager Neil Lennon insists the club are not putting a timescale on when they expect him to see the hitman back in a Hoops jersey.
And his skipper believes it is only right his colleague is given all the time he needs.
Brown, speaking to Sky Sports News, said: “We’re glad for Leigh. We just want to give him a lot of space and let him decide when he needs to come back.
“We don’t want to talk about him too much. We just want to make sure he’s okay, he’s happy and back in the place that he loves to be.”
It’s not clear if there are any expectations for Griffiths to make an appearance in the top side before the end of what could be a historic campaign for the club.
A win against Steven Gerrard’s side at Parkhead on Sunday will move them 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership with only seven games to play with the eighth successive title within grasp.
The holders will also face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final next month as they battle for a place in the silverware showpiece on May 25 where they could have the opportunity of clinching an unprecedented treble treble.
Griifiths has contributed only six goals this term, the last coming in a 3-0 win over Hamilton Accies at The Hope Stadium in November.
