Pictures: Celtic squad give departing Mo Bangura a leaving gift

Published on 30/08/2012 16:14

IF CELTIC were worried about their Champions League qualifier with Helsingborgs on Wednesday night, they weren’t showing it.

It certainly wasn’t evident at the team’s Lennoxtown training complex, where Kris Commons, Joe Ledley and captain Scott Brown busied themselves organising the perfect send-off for Sierra Leone striker Mo Bangura, who is heading off to Swedish club AIK on loan.

As the pictures taken from Joe Ledley’s Twitter account show, the trio covered Bangura’s Audi in hundreds of Post-It notes prior to their 2-0 victory against Helsingborgs.

The 23-year-old hitman, who signed for £2.2 million on August 30 2011, hasn’t enjoyed a particularly auspicious start to his Celtic career, making 11 appearances without finding the net. The striker, who was recommended to Celtic by Henrik Larsson, suffered a knee injury in November of last year which kept him out for three months. On his return, however, Bangura was ruled out for a further four months.

At the time, manager Neil Lennon commented: “[Mo] had a scan and it revealed he needed surgery. The surgery was a success but he is going to be out for 12-16 weeks. It’s unfortunate for him. It was possibly the reason why he hasn’t recaptured his form. Maybe it was hampering him a bit.”

Still, we imagine Mo can’t wait to recapture his form in Sweden and join up with the Parkhead pranksters after his loan spell ends.