OPINION
Recovering from an injury is hard for any player, especially at a club the size of Celtic.
Their dominance means no matter how good the player is, they will find it tough to break back into the first team fold.
When joining the Hoops in 2018 from St Mirren, Lewis Morgan was looking forward to playing at Celtic Park with ambitions of lifting yet more silverware. After a good pre-season under Brendan Rodgers, the 22-year-old seemed destined to succeed at the club.
It was heartbreak for the Scotland international when a knee injury put him out of contention before the season even started and upon his return, the winger had to settle for limited minutes off the bench in both league and cup competitions.
This led to a loan move to Sunderland where Morgan really started to pick up in his form once again, helping his side reach two finals at Wembley during his temporary stay at the Stadium of Light.
Morgan made 22 appearances for Sunderland, scoring two and assisting four goals in his time at the club and upon his return to Celtic has revealed his plans to push for a permanent stay in the first team this time around. Morgan lost time in his Celtic career going out on loan and now faces an uphill task to achieve his ambitions.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Morgan spoke about his ambitions to cement a spot in Neil Lennon’s starting 11 and admitted the Celtic boss has spoken to his agent about next season already.
This must be the motivation for the 22-year-old, who must see this as an opportunity to really stake his claim at Celtic Park next season.
While the likes of James Forrest are nailed on in the starting XI, usurping players such as Scott Sinclair and Jonny Hayes will be the target for Morgan who could take the Hoops to another level with his pace and skill on the ball.
The injury is now in the past and Morgan must take nothing for granted in his quest to earn more first-team football at Celtic and attempt to replicate the form he showed at St Mirren which got him the move to the champions in the first place.
Lennon’s call to his agent proves he is in the manager’s thinking – now it is time to live up to expectation.