Maik Nawrocki happy to see hard work finally paying off at Celtic
Celtic defender Maik Nawrocki admits it was "hard to accept" his period in exile from the first team but he is happy his patience and preparation has paid off.
The summer signing suffered a hamstring injury during his third appearance for Celtic and spent about 10 weeks out injured before struggling to get back into the team, with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales established as Brendan Rodgers' first picks in central defence.
Even a hamstring strain for Carter-Vickers ahead of the visit of Rangers on December 30 did not get him back in the starting line-up, but an injury to Stephen Welsh during the game saw him thrust back into action.
The former Legia Warsaw player came on in the 35th minute to make his first appearance in more than four months and helped Celtic to a 2-1 victory.
The Poland Under-21 international has started the last two games for Celtic and is keen to build on his reintroduction, although Carter-Vickers is expected to be available again for Saturday's cinch Premiership game against Ross County.
Nawrocki said: "I'm happy I can finally play now. It's been a hard time to get back in the team.
"The only thing I could do was work hard, be prepared for the moment, and in the end it happened.
"Centre-backs are hard to rotate. If nobody gets injured, it's hard to get the time.
"If you train every week and work hard and you're not even in the squad or close then it's very hard to accept it.
"But I understood the situation. I knew I had to be prepared and in the end it happened against Rangers.
"I was very happy to play football again, and it was such a big game for the team and the city, so it was very, very good."
The 22-year-old, who was promoting the Topps Match Attax SPFL cards collection, added: "It's one of the biggest games in the world so to come in was good. I had half-time to calm down, but afterwards I just focused on my game and did everything I had done before in my life. I just tried to focus and not think too much about what game it was.
"I had a few friends over for New Year, we had planned it for a long time, and they were there.
"For some reason I thought maybe I could get in and it happened. I don't know why, but I knew before.
"It was very intense for them to be in the stadium. I think they were more excited than myself."
:: Maik Nawrocki was supporting the Topps Match Attax launch of the 2024 SPFL collection at Hampden Park. The 354-card collection is available now in stores across Scotland and at Topps.com
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