Maik Nawrocki of Celtics receives an injury update from Brendan Rodgers.

Celtic defender Maik Nawrocki is “doing well” in his return to training, according to Brendan Rodgers, as he continues to heal from his injury.

The 22-year-old hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring strain against Kilmarnock in August.

Because of the nature of his injury, Nawrocki was not included on the Parkhead team’s Champions League roster, although he appears to be close to returning to action.

“He’s [Nawrocki] doing very well and trained over the last week or so,” Rodgers said to Celtic TV.

“The only people we have left are Liel Abada and Stephen Welsh, who should return in December.

“Fortunately, that’s beginning to lessen and we’re beginning to see a return in numbers ahead of what promises to be a hectic stretch of the season.

“You just have to accept that injuries are a part of life. The challenge came early in the season when new players were trying to adjust and find their footing.”

READ MORE: Celtic’s own boss admits Jung is “not good enough” for a transfer switch.

Rodgers is also looking forward to his team’s next game against Atletico Madrid. On the third matchday of the Champions League group stage, they square off against the Spanish powerhouses in an attempt to earn their first points of the new campaign.

Diego Simeone’s men currently sit fourth in LaLiga, having already tasted success in the first Madrid Derby of the season.

“They’re an outstanding team and Diego Simeone has done an outstanding job over many years at Atletico Madrid,” he said.

He has been there for more than ten years and has achieved great success, so we are aware of the difficulties and their positive side.

 

We have been really competitive in both of our games thus far, and we’re not far from being a strong team at this level.

“We will go into this game and look to give absolutely everything and see if we can learn from the previous two games,” the player said. “There were still elements in those games that I was pleased with.”