Celtic manager Ronny Deila has singled out Socceroo Tom Rogic for special praise after the Hoops’ opening pre-season friendly win on Thursday (AEST).
Rogic caught the eye in a superb 60-minute outing as Celtic ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against FC Den Bosch.
After missing a large portion of last season through injury, it’s the first step in what the 22-year-old hopes will be a long run in the first team.
Deila has been impressed with what he has seen from Rogic in pre-season training and was delighted with what he did against the Dutch club.
“He's a great player and a great person. He works really hard and has been very unlucky with injuries in the last year,” the Celtic boss said of Rogic.
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“Now we have control over his body and you can see what kind of player he is. There's a reason why he got brought to Celtic and he's very hungry to show what is in him.
“Today he played excellent and you can see he's so good at scanning and getting his touch forward.
“He looked very quick today as well and his footwork is getting better every day. He's going to improve with more training.”
An injury-free and confident Rogic is just what Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou will want with the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign to heat up later this year.
Rogic rose to prominence as one of eight worldwide winners of Nike's 'The Chance' competition in 2011, before making an impact with Central Coast Mariners in the Hyundai A-League.
He signed a four-year deal with the Hoops in January 2013 but has managed just 11 games in the Scottish Premiership due to an injury-riddled couple of years.
Celtic continue their pre-season schedule with a game against Czech club Dukla Prague this weekend.