Luckless Socceroo Tom Rogic is hopeful his injury curse is now behind him and says he is enjoying the freedom Celtic boss Ronny Deila has given him.
Rogic put a year’s worth of frustration behind him this week, making his return to first-team action with an eye-catching 60-minute performance in the 2-0 friendly win over FC Den Bosch.
Celtic boss hails 'impressive' Rogic after friendly win
The 22-year-old missed the best part of 12 months of football following a serious groin injury prior to last year’s World Cup but is making a big impression during pre-season with the Hoops.
“I’ve done every session since the summer break and I’m back in full training with the squad,” Rogic told Celtic’s official website.
“Pre-season has been really positive for me and everything that the manager wants has been all with the football.
“The sessions have been really intense and enjoyable but there has obviously been a lot of hard work as well as it’s the start of pre-season.
“My fitness felt okay and I got an hour under my belt alongside most of the boys that started so it was good.
“It was good to be out on the park in a proper first-team match which I haven’t been in for some time so it was really enjoyable.”
Rogic was given a free reign by Deila in the friendly at St Mirren Park and produced a couple of sublime pieces of skill which had the fans on their feet.
“It was nice to be out there and have some freedom,” Rogic said.
“The manager has proved in the last year that he’s quite good at encouraging younger players and he gives you a lot of confidence to play for him.
“I know it’s early but I enjoyed playing my first game for him and hopefully we can kick on from here.”
Rogic will be hoping for more game time in Celtic’s next friendly against Czech club Dukla Prague this weekend.