CELTIC fans will tonight get their first glimpse of the new-look Kris Commons – and Joe Ledley predicts they will be impressed.
The Scotland international has bounced back from a season plagued by fitness issues which saw him reduced to only a handful of appearances in the first half of the campaign.
And, according to his Welsh midfield partner, Commons has returned from his summer break in terrific condition.
The 28-year-old will get the chance to confirm Ledley's assessment of his fitness tonight when Celtic kick off their four-game pre-season tour of Germany and Holland with a match against Bundesliga side, Augsburg.
Ledley said: "Football has changed and you've got to keep yourself fit. You would quickly be found out if you came back out of shape.
"We had the testing in the first couple of days. Some of the boys are in even better shape then when they left.
"Kris Commons looks terrific. His testing was fantastic compared to the end of last season.
"Everyone has beaten their fitness levels for the end of last season, so we're all in good shape and looking forward to the season starting."
Ledley knows that these games, which continue in Stuttgart on Sunday and in Aalen a week tonight then move to Amsterdam for a glamour match against Ajax, are crucial if Celtic are to be successful in their Champions League qualifiers, which begin in three weeks.
And he welcomes the fact that, after previous pre-season commitments taking them to Australia and America, they are staying relatively local for their main work before returning to Parkhead to fine-tune things with matches against Norwich and Inter Milan.
He said: "I'm glad pre-season is going to be a bit closer to home this year as it's been quite far away in recent years.
"It was a long journey to Australia last year and it's nice not to have that.
"They are going to be three difficult games in Germany and then Ajax in Holland, but we're looking forward to them and then, of course, Real Madrid in Philadelphia after the season has started."
However, it's the Champions League which really excites Ledley, and he revealed he is aiming high.
He said: "It's always going to be hard making the leap from Premier League games to Champions League as you are playing against some of the best players in the world. We just want to go out and show what a group of players like us can do.
"It's a young squad, although I felt we dealt with last season well and got some great results. We would love to get beyond the group stage. But first, we need to get there.
"We need to take it round by round, and it's going to be difficult as there will be good teams in the qualifiers.
"Our aim is to get into the group. But, in football, anything can happen. If we can get beyond that it would be an honour."