He will be a Scottish Premier League champion once more, but it was a bittersweet feeling for Canberra's Tom Rogic when his side clinched the title.
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Socceroos midfielder Rogic was forced to watch on from the sideline with an ankle injury as his club side Celtic secured a sixth consecutive Scottish Premier League title.
A Scott Sinclair hat-trick fired Celtic to their 48th Scottish title with a 5-0 thrashing of Hearts on Monday morning.
Rogic is on the comeback trail from an ankle injury suffered in December and the former Central Coast Mariner is hopeful of a return before the season ends.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers sees no benefit in rushing the 24-year-old back from injury, given his side has won the title with eight games remaining.
Rodgers says Rogic's return to the training paddock has added a level of "creativity we haven't had" to the Celtic squad.
While he missed the game in which the title was wrapped up, Rogic should be back on the park to finish the season and get another medal placed around his neck.
Rogic last played against Dundee on December 17 and played no part in Australia's two most recent World Cup qualifiers - a disappointing 1-1 draw with Iraq in Tehran and a 2-0 win over UAE in Sydney.
The former ANU and Belconnen FC star will be a welcome return for national coach Ange Postecoglou when qualifying resumes, adding another dimension to the Socceroos squad.
The Socceroos next face Saudi Arabia before a friendly against Brazil in the lead-up to the Confederations Cup in Russia.
Hearts had lost only three matches at home so far this season but were blown away by the runaway leaders, who have only dropped four competition points all year.
Celtic took the lead through Sinclair after 24 minutes when he fired into the roof of the net from an acute angle after fine interplay with Patrick Roberts.
The forward doubled his tally three minutes later with a sharp finish to give Celtic a stranglehold on the match, before Stuart Armstrong and Roberts wrapped up victory with second-half efforts.
SPL top scorer Sinclair completed his hat-trick with a penalty in the 84th minute as Celtic moved up to 86 points after 30 matches, 25 points clear of second-placed Aberdeen, and 35 ahead of Glasgow rivals Rangers in third.
Celtic still have plenty to play for with a shot at the treble looming, beginning with a Scottish Cup semi-final against the Rangers coming up later this month. with AAP
