Former Celtic defender Andreas Hinkel believed that Marvin Compper can still resurrect his Parkhead career.

The German defender signed for the club for £1m from RB Leipzig in January but has made just one appearance for the club. Compper featured against Morton in a Scottish Cup win back in March but since then has disappeared from prominence at the club.

There were a succession of niggling injuries – the first of which happened during the club’s winter training camp in Dubai - which appeared to keep him sidelined but the fact he had arrived at Celtic having played just three times in Germany throughout the opening period of the season suggested that he was missing key match fitness.

Reports suggest that Brendan Rodgers is ready to throw him a second chance this week as the club head to Austria on pre-season. The club’s first friendly is against SK Vorwarts Steyr on Wednesday, followed by Bohemians Prague on Saturday, Sparta Prague on July 3 and Shamrock Rovers in Dublin on July 7.

With the opening Champions League game coming against Alashkert in Armenia on July 10th and Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa all being given additional time off following their World Cup commitments, Rodgers could do with additional defensive options.

And Hinkel has backed the experience of his fellow countryman to offer Celtic what they need to get through.

“I am sure that he will look upon it as another opportunity,” he said. “It has been a difficult time for him and I am sure that he will have been more disappointed than anyone not to make an impression at Celtic.

“I know that Dedryck Boyata is with Belgium just now for the World Cup and that means that you really need someone else in there for those early qualifiers.

“The big thing for Marvin will be that he gets a good pre-season in. He has huge experience and he is a very intelligent player. He thinks about the game which can make the difference but at the same time you also need your body to be 100% in order to be able to do what you want it to.

“He will be hoping that he can get his fitness right and then take it from there. But every player believes that they can make a difference. If he does manage to get himself into the starting line-up then he will think that he can stay in there and offer his experience for the benefit of the team.”

The former Fiorentina and Hoffenheim defender is a player that Hinkel never crossed paths with in his own playing career. However, he expects that his fellow countryman will be eager to show Celtic what he has got.

The player was bought to the club last year knowing that he was ineligible for the Europa League tie against Zeit St Petersburg but the anticipation was that he would have played a greater role domestically.

Part of the reason why that didn’t materialise could be attributed to the form of Kristoffer Ajer who emerged in the latter half of the season to become a mainstay of Celtic’s backline.

With Jozo Simunovic also in the mix, it remains to be seen if Compper can force his way into the side over the next few weeks.

“Marvin actually started his career at Stuttgart when I was there but he was in the youth team,” said Hinkel. “Then I moved on to Scotland and then to Spain and he went to Borussia Monchengladbach. By the time I was back in Germany he was in Italy so we have never really had much to do with one another but he is a player who has always been held in high esteem.

“He has a good pedigree and I did think that when he signed for Celtic in January that he would be a good fit for the club. I thought that his experience would be significant for them and I still think that is something that can be utilised for the benefit of the team.

“It is unfortunate for him that it was a slow start. He has played at other countries but I do think that you need time to settle and adapt to a new culture. Getting injured just after he arrived at a winter training camp would have been difficult for him because that is when you want to get to know your new team-mates and get to know the club so it would have put him on the backfoot right away.

“He will believe in himself. He will think that if he gets the chance of getting into the team this summer than he can stay there.”