Carl Starfelt opens up on injury nightmare as Celtic defender makes fitness admission

Not a man for flannel, Celtic centre-back Carl Starfelt openly confesses that Real Madrid in the Bernabeu was a “really tough game” to make his playing return following two months sidelined by a knee problem.

Maybe with that, the Swede could be considered a man for understatement. The defender was powerless to prevent Ange Postecoglou’s men - missing powerhouse Cameron Carter-Vickers with a slight strain - going down 5-1 as they made their retreat from continental competition. Yet, the first Champions League appearance of Starfelt’s career proved preferable to what had preceded that for him.

“The timing of my injury was awful because I basically missed a full Champions League campaign,” said the 24-year-old, who coped with the examination surprisingly well since he is some way short of full fitness. “I got injured three days before the first Champions League game against Real Madrid in the Rangers game [on September 2]. That was a really hard moment for me personally. I had just come back from an injury – I’d been injured a full pre-season – and then came back and played three games, scored two goals and got injured again.