MIKAEL LUSTIG, one of Celtic's key players, last night admitted it may take a year before he is fully fit and that he's forced to take painkillers before every game for a swollen foot caused by him damaging his ankle ligaments in February.
The Swedish right-back insisted he could still "give 100 per cent" and is expected to start on Wednesday night when the club's quest to reach the group stages of the Champions League begins in Glasgow against FC Stjarnan of Iceland.
Lustig has suffered several injuries since joining the club in January, 2012, however, when fit he has been one of the most consistent performers for first Neil Lennon and now Ronny Deila.
The 28-year-old has saved some of his best performances for the Champions League, so Celtic manager Deila must hope the Sweden international can carry on as normal despite this on-going problem.
"I can give 100 per cent but the foot is still quite swollen," revealed Lustig. "But they say it's going to be like that for a while so I just need to go through that. I am ready to go. It could be up to a year before it's back to normal but it could be worse.
"It is my ankle ligaments and, of course, I don't feel 100 per cent, but I can give 100 per cent. I take painkillers when we play games but not for training. I try not to do that. I have trained now for three weeks and it's getting better.
"It's been frustrating. I got some muscle injuries at the start of last season. When I got my second one, I thought 'I need to do this properly and take a couple of weeks extra.' I did that but then after two games I got the foot injury and was a little bit unlucky. Of course I was frustrated but it's over now."
The pain he may feel from his foot would be nothing compared to that if Celtic miss out again this season in terms of Champions League qualification.
The Parkhead side should have more than enough about them to see off Stjarnan and will be seeded in the following two rounds, which will give them a greater chance of success.
But Lustig warned his team-mates to learn the lessons of last time when defensive errors proved their downfall.
"I think we were a little too naive in Europe last season, " he said. "If we missed passes we got punished more than we do in the Scottish Premiership. You need to win the game in Europe. An SPL team may go with ten men (behind the ball!) but in Europe the other team has to score.
"But we are going to be more up for it this season and not as naïve. I just remember the first game away against Legia, we gave away two or three passes in the middle and they punished us with goals. We can't do that again.
"If we play as we can, they shouldn't be able beat us but it's football and crazy things can happen. But no, of course, we are going to go through this round."
BT Sport will broadcast Celtic's second leg clash away to FC Stjarnan in their UEFA Champions League qualifier. Watch live on July 22 from 8pm on BT Sport 1. From next season BT Sport is the new home of European football, with all UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League exclusively live.
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