Celtic defender out for the season
Celtic have been dealt a blow with the news that German defender Andreas Hinkel has been ruled out of action for the entire Scottish Premier League season due to injury. The 28-year-old full-back suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his right knee during a training session.
The player was sent for MRI scans which revealed the extent of the injury. He will require surgery to help repair the damage and he will be sidelined for up to nine months.
Hinkel, who is in the last year of his contract with the Glasgow giants, had been looking for a move away from Celtic Park before the transfer window shut at the end of this month after being told that he would not be guaranteed first team football this season. Manager Neil Lennon has selected summer signing Cha Du-Ri as his first-choice right-back but Hinkel’s injury means that he will have to remain with Celtic until next summer.
The defender, who is well-known for his attacking runs up the right wing, started his career with Stuttgart after coming through the youth ranks at the German Bundesliga outfit. He played 156 times for the club and scored one goal before making the switch to Sevilla in 2006 for a fee of around four million euros.
Hinkel enjoyed a successful two-year stint with the La Liga club as he won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Cup. However, that success was tempered by the fact that he made just 15 appearances in two seasons there having been unable to force his way past Daniel Alves into the starting line-up regularly. That led to his switch to Celtic in January 2008.
The right-back has also had success in Scotland after winning the SPL title in his first few months with the club. He went on to lift the Scottish League Cup in the 2008-09 season.
Hinkel has also featured several times for his country, having claimed 21 caps for the German national team.
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