Simunovic receives glowing praise from Davies

Chris Davies has praised Jozo Simunovic following his first appearance since a serious knee injury on Sunday.

The 22-year-old centre-back was limited to just 17 appearances last season after undergoing knee surgery in March on an injury which arose in December, but wasn’t noticed until a month later.

Davies worked under Rodgers previously at Reading, Swansea and Liverpool and left the Championship side in the summer to join the Irishman in Glasgow.

Speaking about Simunovic to the Scotsman, the Hoops number two said:

We’ve got Jozo back, who came on and looked excellent, he was strong and with his passing. He has responded very well. He trains fantastically, he has got a great attitude and application. He is a lovely guy as well, he’s got

He is a lovely guy as well, he’s got personality. And when he goes on the pitch he wants to defend and be aggressive. And he can pass. He’s the type of defender we want and hopefully now he can go from strength to strength.

The Croatian defender made his long-awaited return to the team on Sunday in their 2-2 draw at Inverness, and is expected to make his first start since January against Alloa Athletic.

Davies also commented on Celtic’s defence, which has been highlighted as a concern as they have managed just two clean sheets in all competitions this season.

Everybody wants that settled back four but sometimes with injuries and bits and bobs, it’s not always possible. But we’ll be looking in the next few weeks if we are dominating games and can’t quite finish our chances that we give nothing away at the other end.

Celtic are in action tomorrow night (Wednesday in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final against Alloa, with a place in the semi-final up for grabs.

Rodgers side will be heavy favourites going into the game against the recently relegated League One side, but will still need to put in a professional performance on the night to avoid any upset.