Lennon backs winger to shine against Dutch after meningitis fears
Neil Lennon has backed James Forrest to deliver the spark that reignites Celtic’s Champions League hopes - just a month after fearing the winger had been struck down by meningitis.The Parkhead boss revealed for the first time the depth of his concern when Forrest (below) was hospitalised for several days by a mystery virus.
Full recovery: Celtic winger James Forrest was in hospital a month ago but will feature against Ajax
Bright spark: Forrest returned to the line-up to score the equaliser for his side against Hibernian
Forrest will now be handed a key attacking role in Tuesday night’s crucial Group H encounter against Ajax, with his presence all the more vital after it was confirmed Kris Commons will be sidelined with a hamstring strain.
Lennon has every faith in the 22-year-old’s ability to influence games at the highest level and said: ‘We first thought it could have been meningitis but, thankfully, it wasn’t as serious as that.
‘We haven’t really got to the bottom of what it was. He lost a stone in weight and scared us all, really.
But he has recovered well. The 10 days for the international break gave us a good opportunity to get some conditioning work into him and get his weight back up as well.
‘He was a wee bit apprehensive about starting on Saturday. We wanted to start him, but he was a bit wary. He came on sooner than expected with Kris going off and he looked great. I was really pleased with his contribution.’
Early exit: Forrest came on earlier than manager Neil Lennon hoped after Kris Commons came off injured
Lennon confessed he was worried about Forrest’s health even as he tried to guide Celtic through their opening Champions League defeat against AC Milan.
‘When you hear something like that, you think: “Wow!”,’ he reflected. ‘It just came out of the blue. We thought he’d be OK to travel to Milan but, obviously, he wasn’t. Thankfully, he is over it and looking a lot healthier.’
Forrest scored the dramatic goal against Shakhter Karagandy that took the Parkhead club into the group stage and Lennon believes he can make a significant impact against the Dutch champions as Celtic seek a win that would maintain their last-16 ambitions.
The Parkhead boss is, however, frustrated by the absence of Commons, who could recover in time for the return match in Amsterdam on November 6.
Impressed: Lennon revealed Forrest lost a stone through illness but made good use of the international break
‘James always gives us another dimension,’ said Lennon. ‘It’s just a shame Kris is injured, because we haven’t really had him and James on the same pitch for a whole Champions League game. It’s great having James back, but it’s massive to lose Kris.
‘There might be expectation on James’ shoulders, but I think he can handle it. I saw him play in Italy against Udinese (in the Europa League) and he was the best player on the pitch. He came on in Moscow last season and changed the game for us.’
The absence of Commons is not Celtic’s only selection issue. Captain Scott Brown is suspended, while Lennon is sceptical about Joe Ledley’s readiness to complete 90 minutes. Right-back Mikael Lustig will be given a late fitness test on a hip problem.
Men down: Celtic face Ajax in Champions League
without suspended captain Scott Brown (below), while Mikael Lustig
(left) and Joe Ledley (right) are both under injury clouds ahead of
Tuesday's clash at Parkhead
Suggestions from within the Dutch camp, meanwhile, that Celtic will resort to playing long balls were met with disdain from towering striker Georgios Samaras last night.
‘Probably they didn’t see the video very well,’ Samaras said when asked about Ajax's scouting report.
‘They could not have analysed us very well because, if they did, they would see we don’t play that way. We don’t try to play long balls and go for second balls, we play football. We try to be attacking and score goals.’
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