Neil Lennon hopeful that Georgios Samaras can face Motherwell and Spartak

Celtic could be boosted by the return of Georgios Samaras as they prepare for challenging matches in the SPL and Champions League.

The Parkhead club travel to face Motherwell on Saturday on domestic business before flying to Moscow to play Spartak four days later and Samaras could be used in both games.

The Greek forward has not featured for Neil Lennon’s side since dislocating his elbow while on international duty on September 7.

Samaras has returned to training and, asked if it was important to have him available for the Champions League match against Spartak, Lennon underlined his importance to the team.

“Samaras is a key man, full stop,” he said. “We’ve missed him at times but he does seem to thrive in the European environment and we will give him every opportunity to be fit for Saturday and Tuesday.

“If he comes through [Saturday], he’ll definitely be in the squad [for Tuesday]. He came through a real, proper training session today and he seems pretty comfortable.”

Lennon revealed that while the signs were good, he would not know for certain if the player had made a full recovery until he saw him in a competitive game.

“We’ve got a cast made for him that holds the arm in a certain position but you don’t really know until you’re out there in the hustle and bustle of it all and he gets a thump on it or he has to land on it,” he said.

“We’ll see what kind of reaction we get then.”

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