Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has expressed his support for teammate Christopher Jullien after the player gave a recent interview.
Having picked up a freak injury – one that his surgeon described as something ‘he had never seen before with a footballer’ – all the way back in December 2020, the French defender then proceeded to miss the next 409 days of football.
Jullien finally made his return to the pitch in the 4-0 win over Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup fifth round earlier this month and has now spoken about his experience in an emotional interview with the club’s media channel.
Having made his first appearance after so long, the 28-year-old was quoted on the club’s website as saying: “I didn’t expect that ovation at all. When you work for 409 days you just go day-by-day and don’t think about the end goal.
“To get my feet on the pitch made me emotional and I thank everyone for the warm welcome back.”
He continued: “I’ve just been working every day in training and seeing how it goes, but this welcome is something I will never forget.
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“That injury was something else. The trauma my knee had was really difficult and I then had a nine or 10-month wait before I could even touch a ball again – that’s indescribable. I’m at the end of the tunnel now and I hope I will feel good for the rest of my life.”
Jullien then shared footage of the interview on his Instagram account and his teammates were quick to wish him messages of support.
Notably, Hart said: “Brilliant interview @chris6jullien very happy for you and excited to see you work big man.”
Josip Juranovic also sent a positive message, writing: “My superman!!”
Considering Jullien won a domestic treble with Celtic during the 2019/20 season, it’s easy to see why his teammates are so excited to have him fit and back amongst their ranks.
With those trophies and over 60 appearances with the club for the centre-back – as well as time spent in the French and German top tiers – he will no doubt be hoping to use his experience to help the Bhoys claim another league title at the end of the season.
In other news: ‘Class’ – Josip Juranovic blown away by Celtic teammate