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Seeing Keiran Tierney back in training is what every Celtic fan has been waiting months for.

On Friday Brendan Rodgers confirmed Tierney's return at Lennoxtown but cautioned, as quoted by Celtic's official website: "He’ll need to find football fitness, but it’s great to get him back out on the pitch."

It's no coincidence that Celtic's dip in form before the winter break coincided with the young left-back dropping out the team due to injury.

At times it seems Tierney's outstanding performances are taken for granted - but his absence has highlighted just how important he is to the Hoops.

Going into Sunday's Scottish Cup tie, Celtic may have to rely on winger Jonny Hayes to play at left-back after Emilio Izaguirre was crocked in midweek by a nasty challenge from Darnell Johnston.

With another treble at stake, the lack of options at the back (mostly due to injury) is a real concern going into Sunday's lunchtime kick off.

And with Valencia visiting the east end of Glasgow next Thursday, the Celtic backline is going to be severely tested over the next week.