Patrick Roberts delivers verdict on long-awaited Celtic return v Motherwell

Sun 18 March 2018 18:19, UK

Celtic winger Patrick Roberts has revealed how pleased he was to finally get back on the pitch for the Hoops after being out since November.

The 20-year-old attacker, who is in his second spell at the Hoops on-loan from Manchester City, made his first appearance for the Hoops in four months after suffering a serious hamstring injury in the goalless draw against Motherwell.

Roberts played the last 20 minutes of the game, and was unlucky not to score the winning goal with a shot against the crossbar, but as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account the Englishman was just pleased to get back on the pitch again.

“It was the longest four months of my life. It was great to get back out there but shame about the result” Roberts said.

????️ @patrick7roberts speaking to the media returning from his long injury lay-off in today's draw with @MotherwellFC at Fir Park: "It was the longest four months of my life. It was great to get back out there but shame about the result."#MOTCEL
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) March 18, 2018

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The Hoops have missed Roberts in the spell he has been missing from the side and he could prove to be a key player in the quest for a second consecutive domestic treble.

Football Insider verdict

Roberts’ comments are refreshingly candid for a football player. He seems to have really missed the buzz of playing and understandably so, when you consider how well he did for the Hoops in the latter stages of last season, as the Hoops swept all before them on the way to a domestic treble. The Bhoys might not be playing that well at the moment, so the return of Roberts comes at a very good time, and he showed his class in the cameo against Motherwell when he smashed a shot against the crossbar. With James Forrest going off the boil recently and Scott Sinclair having a poor season, Roberts could play a key role for the Hoops in the closing weeks of the season.