OLD FIRM CLASH IS TWO LEG AFFAIR .. SHAME I TRIED TO DO IT WITH ONE!
Defender admits knee injury meant he should not have started against Gers
Ten minutes into his Old Firm debut Filip Benkovic knew he wasn’t right.
The pain in his knee that had surfaced at Pittordrie a week previously had flared up again at Ibrox to give Celtic yet another defensive problem.
The big Croat had tried to block it out in the build-up.
So desperate to feature against Rangers, Benkovic says he’d have started the game with just one leg.
But relaxing at the team’s plush Dubai hotel last week, the centre-back was able to reflect.
And with the benefit of hindsight, he knows now he shouldn’t have been on the pitch for the Hoops’ 1- 0 defeat in Govan.
Benkovic was off the pace from the start as the hosts took control and eventually he limped off to be replaced by Kris Ajer.
Having sat on the bench for the previous Glasgow derby in September, the on-loan Leicester City kid was eager to be involved at Ibrox. But when the injury blew up early in the first half, he knew his match was over.
Thankfully for Brendan Rodgers, the winter break has allowed Benkovic’s knee to heal and he’s almost back at 100 per cent.
He’s determined now to put the Old Firm nightmare behind him, as well as the niggle in his knee, to be a key player for Celtic in the second half of the Premiership campaign.
The 21-year-old said: “My knee is good again. I had the problem for a few weeks in December but it’s OK again.
“I’ve trained as normal in Dubai, doing my rehabilitation and some extra work on my knee.
“I still feel it a little bit but I can do everything on the pitch. If it stays like this, everything will be fine.
“During the Rangers match, I felt the same pain I’d felt at Aberdeen the week before in the 10th minute.
“I knew then that it was impossible to continue so I told the coach and we made the decision to come off.
“Before the game I’d taken some medicine, a lot of stuff, but it didn’t help. We had a few injuries already in defence and sometimes you get days like that. It was tough, you know. But I tried. I just wasn’t going to make it.
“In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have played. But when you’re a footballer you want to play in every game – especially that one!
“You play football for games like that. Those matches are different so you want to give everything – even if it’s on one leg!
“So I tried but it didn’t work. Now, I’m not thinking about the Rangers game any more.
“We didn’t play well so we’ll move forward to the next game. That defeat is in the past and our focus is to be much better.”
Leicester boss Claude Puel has already intimated that he won’t take up the option of recalling Benkovic from his loan at Parkhead in the January window.
That could change if, in the ever-fickle environment of the Premier League, the Frenchman loses his job.
But Benkovic can’t think that way. His only focus is on staying at Celtic for the rest of the season.
And he’s convinced that the experience of playing for Rodgers’ title chasers will prepare him for a crack at England’s top flight when he does return to the Midlands.
He said: “In this period at Celtic, I feel I’ve improved as a player every day. Here, I have the scope to work on every aspect of my game.
“That’s vital if I want to go on to play at the very top level. I feel good here and that I’m doing a good job.
“Later in my career, when I look back, I want to say I did well at Celtic. I want to know that I worked hard and was very humble during my time in Scotland.
“This will prepare me for the Premier League. Experience is so important for a player because it then makes it easier to deal with certain situations.
“It makes you smarter. But nothing can happen without hard work because I think the Premier League is the No.1 in the world.
“Here at Celtic, I play with pressure, which is good. But that’s normal for me – I came from a club in Croatia where it was the same.
“I like that, I enjoy the pressure. To me that’s a positive, now and moving forward. “The last information I had from Leicester was that I am staying at Celtic until the end of the season.
“I enjoy it here so that’s what I’m focusing on. After that, we will speak and see what’s for the best.
“I’m having fun here and want more of it.”
As well as being embroiled in a title race, Rodgers’ side also have a glamour Europa League tie against Valencia to look forward to next month.
And as much as he’s enjoying the domestic action with Celtic, Benkovic admits he can’t wait to lock horns with the Spanish side.
He said: “We can’t look too far ahead in the league because we have months of games still to go.
“I said I wanted three medals when I came here and I still feel that way. The mission for any player is to win everything on offer.
“But I can’t wait for the Valencia game because European matches are really special. They don’t come around every week.
“We know how tough it will be for us because Valencia are always near the top of La Liga. But it will be a great challenge for us.”
We had a few injuries already. I’d taken a lot of medicine but it didn’t help me