Sviatchenko in the first-team mix after break, says Davies

CELTIC’S shortage of central defenders has been eased by the return of Erik Sviatchenko to full training.

The Dane has been out injured since damaging his knee in the Champions League qualifier against Rosenborg in August. Originally expected to be out for six weeks, it’s taken the 26-year-old twice as long to recover but he was part of the squad for yesterday’s match at St Johnstone and could feature in Celtic’s next game away at Ross County.

‘Erik is training but he’s been out for a while,’ said assistant manager Chris Davies. ‘He’s now back in the group every day and we could possibly see him after the international break.’

In addition to Sviatchenko’s fitness problems, both Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic have struggled this term, forcing Brendan Rodgers to mix and match at the back.

Mikael Lustig and Nir Bitton have played Champions League games out of position, with Bitton partnering Boyata in the Premiership at McDiarmid Park.

Rodgers has received some criticism for not recruiting an extra centre-back during the last transfer window after a deal to sign South African starlet Rivaldo Coetzee collapsed on medical grounds.

The Coetzee deal will not be revived but Davies admits there could be movement in the January market.

‘The fact that didn’t happen was, in isolation, a blow for us and the player,’ said Davies. ‘In every window you want to come out with a better squad, that’s the idea. We’ll look to do business if it’s right in January, that’s the plan.

‘But we’ve got good central defenders at the club. We’ve three in Boyata, Sviatchenko and Simunovic who have played a lot but have had different patterns of injury which hasn’t allowed any of them to sustain a partnership.

‘Erik played against Rosenborg and looked good, then his knee went. He’s never really managed a run and Jozo has had hamstring issues. Jozo is doing light rehab, so he’ll be another few weeks.’

Kristoffer Ajer was handed a start in last weekend’s league match against Kilmarnock, but Davies reckons the process of converting the Norwegian from midfielder to defender still has some way to run.

He added: ‘As with various players over Brendan’s coaching career, he’s tweaked their position to suit.

‘We see Kris as a centre-back, so we’re trying to teach him that role. He’s a little way from being a dominant, key figure for us in the middle of defence. But he has potential.’