WHEN Daniel Arzani embarked on his loan move to Celtic, he knew he faced a steep challenge in earning a place in the team.

However, the young Australian encountered an entirely different test in the form of a long-term injury.

Having come through that difficult period in his life, Arzani tells this week’s Celtic View how he hopes the lessons learned from that experience will prove useful in his bid for a place in Neil Lennon’s team.

Having just signed for Manchester City from Melbourne City – one of the Premier League club’s sister clubs – ahead of the 2018/19 season, Arzani immediately agreed a two-year loan move to Celtic as a means of gaining some first-team experience at the top level.

The then 19-year-old was a hot prospect, having been the youngest player at the 2016 World Cup tournament, and the chance to train and play with the recently crowned Treble-winning Invincibles was an exciting opportunity.

After a couple of months training with Celtic, Arzani was handed his debut in the Hoops in an away league meeting against Dundee at Dens Park. He came on shortly after half-time but his season was over just around 20 minutes later after sustaining a serious injury.

He marked his welcome return earlier this month when he came on during Celtic’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Not surprisingly, Arzani was elated at being back playing first-team football again.

“It’s been an incredibly long time that I’ve been out, so it means the world to me to be back out on the pitch doing what I love,” he said. “I’m really happy with how I’ve progressed in the last couple of weeks and the chances the manager has given me.

“I had some training leading up to the time away in Dubai and then over there I had a lot of solid training which was perfect. Hopefully I can stay fit now and kick on from here and build on my game-time.”

Arzani had hoped to make his comeback long before January 2020 and was on track to do so until more misfortune derailed his season.

“There were a couple of setbacks,” said the 21-year-old. “I came back about three months ago and played a game with the reserves to try get my fitness back. I had a couple of issues with my tendon after that which delayed things and kept me out until around 10 days before Dubai.

“It was really frustrating because I had worked so hard to get back and then something out of my control happened again. A lot of the boys in the dressing room helped me remain positive during the injury.

“The biggest thing for me was in the gym. I was able to vent any frustration out in the gym and I did as much work as possible to make sure I returned strong. It was a frustrating time but I’m glad that’s all behind me now and I’m looking to the future.”

For the full interview with Daniel Arzani, see this week’s Celtic View, out now.

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Daniel Arzani looks ahead in this week’s Celtic View