JAMES FORREST'S season mirrors Celtic's campaign in a way which does anything but leave it in a good light.

Sure, the talented 21-year-old is about to collect his second SPL championship medal – and might not even need to kick another ball to get it.

There remains the prospect of a league and cup double, if that Hampden record can be improved this weekend then again on May 26.

And a European experience never to be forgotten has also been a major component of the season for the club and young winger.

But when it is all analysed, there is a residual frustration that it all could have been that bit better.

In terms of the club, the inconsistency of performance and results – which have seen them fail to better last season's points tally in the league and pass up the opportunity to record their first Treble since 2001 – jars, especially when measured against the quality of squad which Neil Lennon now has at his disposal.

Sure, the extra 12 games which European competition brought made it very tough to get the balance right.

But when the history books are studied in years to come, it is matches and trophies won which will be listed, not any explanations or mitigation.

Likewise, Forrest's season has been one in which he has shown how good he is, but also one in which he has been struggling to find consistency.

To be fair, it has been his fitness, rather than his form which has been at the root of this.

That has not made it any easier to thole, however.

And, as he tries to find his way back from his latest problem – a bulge in a disc in his spine – he recognises this is a path he has trodden too often for comfort.

This weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final against Dundee United has been a long-term target for Forrest, who is the reigning SPFA, SFWA and SPL Young Player of the Year, and who made it onto Fifa's prestigious list of Young Players to Watch.

But remaining injury-free and in the starting XI for the remainder of the campaign, then regaining his spot in the Scotland side for June's World Cup qualifier against Croatia, is the real aim of the unlucky Bhoy.

Forrest said: "I have had a few injuries this season, but none of them have been really serious.

"It has been frustrating because, sometimes. I will be out and I don't know when I'll return. That's not good, mentally.

"Every time I thought I was getting a little run of games, I got an injury.

"Once I come back this time, I just want to stay fit for as long as possible."

Despite the fact he has more experience than most his age when it comes to dealing with being out injured, Forrest does not find it any easier to come to terms with being sidelined, especially when the prizes are about to be handed out.

"Everyone knows what it is like being injured," he told Celtic TV. "It is the worst thing for a footballer.

"And everybody has their own way of dealing with that."

Surprisingly, closer inspection reveals Forrest has actually managed to make 27 appearances for the Hoops in this troubled campaign, though 11 of these games saw him come off the bench.

This latest lay-off has been endured since he limped away from the Champions League last 16 second-leg tie in Turin on March 6.

Lennon admits the absence of Forrest causes a real problem for his side because he is pivotal to the way he wants them to play.

That's a big onus to place on the shoulders of one so young.

But the manager recognised very early in Forrest's career that he was a kid who could handle responsibility and would not buckle under the weight of expectation. Mentally, at any rate.

Physically, he has struggled to break free from the hip and nerve issues which have plagued him since he broke through to the first team as a raw 18-year-old this time three years ago.

Special implants in his boots have been designed by specialists in London in an attempt to correct some of the problems, while extensive examinations of his body have been undertaken to try and discover what lies at the root of his problems, and what can be done to nullify the effects.

Forrest is just back from another flying visit to London where he was given an injection into his back to allow him to complete his latest rehab.

He would have been in the frame for a return to action last weekend, but a slight foot injury picked up in training put that plan on hold.

Through it all, he tries to keep smiling, reassured by the medical staff looking after him that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

He said: "I had an injection in my back down in London last week, and it has started to feel better.

"It was the nerve in my back. It was giving me pain in different places down my leg. It wasn't a good feeling.

"I have been working with the physios every day up in the gym, trying to strengthen it."

That hard graft is about to pay off, and Forrest is buoyed by hearing Lennon commenting on what an impact he made when he returned to the side after his last injury absence, in February.

"I feel when I am fit, I can do that," said Forrest.

"All I want to do is work hard, stay fit and see what happens."

In an ideal scenario, that will be a trouble-free run to the end of the campaign, during which Forrest adds to his medal collection with another championship and Scottish Cup success.

That would provide a silver lining for a season which, for too long, he has spent under something of a cloud.