Andreas Hinkel - Playing for Germany is too risky

Following his recall to the German squad, and an appearance in their recent World Cup qualifier against Finland, Andreas Hinkel was worried that his recent injury could have led to yet another period of international exile but the Celtic defender is reassured now.

"Three days ago I spoke to the assistant coach of the national team and it's important to know that they are thinking about me." said Hinkel "We spoke about the injury and whether I could play for the national team in the upcoming internationals but we decided it would be a little risky, it's maybe a little too early for me, and because of that he didn't pick me for these upcoming games."

Speaking on Celtic TV he said "I've got a tear at the top of my leg from two weeks ago and I think I need a few days more treatment and physio and then it'll be ok. I don't know exactly which day but I'll be able to go back to training with the team next week and I'll be ready for the game against Inverness."

After putting in a lot of effort in pre-season Andreas was looking forward to the busy schedule and especially the Champions League matches "I've missed a very important Champions League game against Villareal." he said "It's not nice but there's nothing you can do about it, you just have to handle it and look forward. Injuries are always disappointing and you just never know when something like this is going to happen. It's especially disappointing when I've played all through the pre-season and never missed a training session and had no problems then a few weeks into the season something like this happens."

Getting fit again is one thing but Andreas knows it won't be an easy task to walk back into the team and he realises that Mark Wilson and Paul Caddis are genuine contenders for the right back slot. "I don't know if I'll play because it's the decision of the manager." he said "I can only train well and give all I can and then the manager will decide. There is competition for places but it's good to have that many players just for the right back position, and in midfield we have a lot of players."

"We have a lot of games and we want to win titles" said the defender "If you want to win titles you need a lot of players of good quality so it's good for our squad. I think it's better if every player is fit of course because then every player has to give his best to stay in the team."

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan's much discussed rotation system is something that the ex-Seville player has no problem with and he thinks there will be enough games to satisfy most of the players "Of course the manager can change or rotate" he said "I think the key to success is if you have good players then if one is in better form then you pick him and if sometimes the other player is better then you can pick him instead. I think as we go through the season everyone will play enough games so it's not a problem."