Commons’ fitness a worry for Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits he has no idea when Kris Commons will be fit enough to feature in the first-team.

According to the Glasgow Evening Times, former Liverpool man, Rodgers has already sent a warning to Commons that he faces a race against time to prove his fitness with only  one-year remaining on his contract with the Scottish champions.

Commons has returned to training after having surgery on a back injury last month, but is yet to train alongside his new team-mates as they prepare to defend their league title in the new campaign under Rodgers.

Speaking about the 32-year-old, the Celtic boss said:

Kris Commons trained separately to the group. He’s a long way off in terms of intensity.

He has been working behind the scenes on the injury but, in terms of football fitness, he won’t be available for a while.

Despite a frustrating season under Ronny Deila, the midfielder has made it clear that he would like to remain at Paradise beyond his current contract.

The creative midfielder made 33 appearances last season, scoring nine goals and providing 12 assists under the Norwegian.

Commons has been linked with moves away from Celtic this summer and it had been reported that he rejected a move to fellow Scottish side Hibernian to link up with former Celtic manager Neil Lennon at the Edinburgh side.