Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor is confident he can force his way back into the first team when he returns to competitive action from injury.

The 22-year-old broke his ankle in a training accident in late April and the former Scotland Under-21 international will not join in with his team-mates again for a couple of weeks.

McGregor made a superb start to last season and netted on his debut against KR Reykjavik and also on his first league outing against St Johnstone.

The Scot made 21 starts overall, including 11 in Europe, but some lacklustre performances saw manager Ronny Deila use other options before his ankle problem.

McGregor feels the injury did not come at a bad time and he is eager to get back to full fitness in order to impress the boss.

He told Celtic TV: “I’ve been doing a bit in the gym and hopefully I should be out running next week. It’s coming along well and hopefully I’ll be back soon.

“It was just a freak accident in training, you can’t legislate for that. It’s disappointing but it happened at a good time because I should be back in three or four weeks.

“I’ve been injured before and it gives you time to think about other things and once you get back then you’re bang at it and ready to go.

“Obviously it’s disappointing at the time but it gives you more focus when you get back to try that wee bit extra and run that wee bit harder.”

Celtic comfortably won the Scottish Premiership last season and Deila’s men are favourites at 1.03 to retain the title while Aberdeen are the next fancied side at 21.00.