IT was one of those swooping, clapping handshakes that only the rich and famous can pull off without looking ridiculous.

The arms were drawn way back like the start of a Roger Federer forehand then came thundering together as if a pair of pterodactyls had collided in midair. And thus did the current and former Celtic goalkeepers greet one another on an evening of great significance and poignancy for both.

The rise and fall and rise again of Craig Gordon continues to be a remarkable story. If there was any risk in the summer in Celtic electing to recruit a goalkeeper who hadn't played for two years - before installing him as their first choice once Fraser Forster had been sold to Southampton - then it has been well and truly vindicated.

Gordon has returned to first-team football without a hint of rustiness, his agility and reactions clearly not blunted by an extended spell on the sidelines. Once settled again and all doubters quietened, the next obvious step was a return to the international fray and then, on Tuesday evening, another cap, his 41st for Scotland but a first since a 3-0 victory over the Faroe Islands almost exactly four years previously.

Gordon had been pencilled in to start against England but David Marshall's unexpected recovery from injury meant the 31-year-old had to wait until half-time to make an appearance. It did not start well - his first act was to pluck Wayne Rooney's header from his net - but despite conceding again in a 3-1 loss there was little doubting the sense of satisfaction that radiated from Gordon as he spoke about his return to the Scotland scene, a day he had begun to fear would never come around.

"Absolutely," he confirmed. "I've had to work so much harder for this cap than any of the 40 that have gone before it. This means as much to me as anything - 100%. I worked hard to come through as a youngster, but to have that taken away and have to work so much harder to get back makes it more special. It didn't come easy. My career was on the up and up and then to have it taken away and start from nothing makes it a long way back.

"You have to savour everything and in the past I probably didn't. I took it for granted and when it's not there then that is when you start to worry where the next [game] is coming from. It's been a long fight but definitely worthwhile. Standing at the side waiting to come on was probably the moment when I knew it was going to happen. I turned round to see my mum, dad, wife and four-year-old girl up in the stand. I knew then that that was me back as an international player."

Returning to the Scotland fold remained a burning ambition even at his lowest ebb. "I could have [settled for just playing club football] but getting back to international football was what drove me on," he revealed. "That was definitely a goal of mine - to get back with Scotland. I didn't know where I would be playing my club football or if I'd have to drop down a level to get a bigger club - I didn't know the route, but playing for Scotland again was the one thing that kept me going."

Now back ensconced in the camp, and a regular with Celtic, Gordon sees no reason why he cannot push to become Gordon Strachan's first-choice goalkeeper in the new year. Marshall would seem to hold the position at the moment, with Allan McGregor also making a case for selection, but the former Hearts player is undeterred.

"My aim was just one more cap to start with and now I've got that - I'd better adjust my aims now," he added. "I want to push for a starting place - if I can buckle down and do well at Celtic I can give myself an opportunity to play for Scotland again. I believe if I can keep working and knocking on the door then I still have a chance to play in qualifiers. You don't know what can happen to the other keepers. I have to concentrate on myself and we can see what happens."

He and Forster spent a few months training together in the summer and the England goalkeeper, who earned his third cap on Tuesday night, revealed how impressed he has been with Gordon's return to football.

"It's brilliant for Craig. I think he deserves so much credit for working very hard during that couple of years he was out. He had to really dig in mentally and good luck to him: he's a top keeper and he's also a really nice guy."