Maik Nawrocki’s season takes another unfortunate turn

The Polish defender joined Hannover 96 on loan in the summer, but persistent injury problems delayed his first appearance for the Bundesliga 2 club until late October.

Despite earning a place in the starting line-up on eight occasions this term, Nawrocki was named in the squad for Hannover’s weekend clash with Holstein Kiel.

However, he was ruled out on the day of the match after suffering a strange injury while changing clothes at his residence. Hannover head coach Christian Titz later explained the situation, stating via Glasgow World: “He felt a twinge in his back this morning when he was quickly changing his clothes. The club doctor examined the player and he couldn’t play. At this stage, we don’t know how long he will be out for.”

The 24-year-old featured only three times in the Scottish Premiership for Celtic last season, one of which came in 3-2 Glasgow Derby defeat to theRangers in March.

Celtic paid around £4.3m to sign him from Legia Warsaw in 2023, and Hannover retain the option to make his stay in Germany permanent when his loan expires at the end of the campaign.

Nawrocki was one of a cluster of players signed by Celtic in the summer of 2023 under the stewardship of Mark Lawwell, the son of the recently retired Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell. Around £20m was spent ahead of Brendan Rodgers returning to the club yet very frequently of the player made any sort of impact at the club.

Conor Spence