Simunovic on his fitness battle after long-term injury

Jozo Simunovic has revealed conversations with Brendan Rodgers about his knee following his return from a long spell on the sidelines through injury.

After requiring surgery in March on a broken bone in his knee which he played with for over a month, Simunovic fought his way into Rodgers’ team but is still being monitored closely by the Celtic medical team.

Speaking to the Herald Scotland about his return from injury, the 22-year-old said:

The manager and I speak with each other and we decide [which games to play in]. We decided Aberdeen [last weekend] and then said we would see for Tuesday [the Champions League game away to Borussia Monchengladbach] and we decided after Aberdeen it would be better to stay calm.

Okay, it was an important game but in my case one game doesn’t mean anything. The most important is the period coming after the international break. We have Barcelona and also after that we have a very important game for us, the League Cup final.

My fitness is still in a process of building. It’s a very long recovery. I missed half a season and all the pre-season matches and training sessions. I would like to play more. That’s natural for every player but we have to be smart sometimes. That’s the right way we are going. I am close to the end of that process and then I will play every week.

Simunovic also added that despite interest from other clubs, he won’t be going anywhere in January or the summer.

A summer move to Torino fell through on deadline day, but now that he is at Celtic and playing once again, Simunovic is revelling under Rodgers’ managerial style.

I know some clubs are still asking for me and I don’t have a problem with that but it’s not the time for me to be leaving. I still haven’t shown everything of me to the Celtic fans. Probably in the future my time will come for leaving, but it’s not that time now. It doesn’t matter what Celtic say [if any offers come in] – I want to stay here. That’s my decision.

Since returning from his knee injury in the middle of September against Inverness, the defender has made seven further appearances, and has impressed fans since coming back into the team.

The Hoops have conceded just two goals in the games he has played – which is a testament to the Croatian and his defensive unit along with Craig Gordon after struggling to keep clean sheets early in the season.

Celtic are in action in just under a fortnight on Friday away to Kilmarnock in the league due to the international break, before a crucial Champions League home tie agaisnt Spanish giants Barcelona –  who they beat at Paradise in 2012.