TOM Rogic has paid tribute to Brendan Rodgers for helping him through his injury problems and spoken of his readiness for the final push of what could be a historic season at Celtic Park.

The Australian midfielder, who Rodgers has referred to as his 'magic man' and predicted he can become one of the best players in his position in Europe, returned to first-team action after four months out with an ankle injury during the 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle.

While he would surely have preferred to return in time to see out the club's sixth successive title win, or at least to contribute to a winning effort, Rogic knows there is much still to play for this season, not least the two Old Firm matches in six days Celtic face later this month as they close in on what would be only the fourth treble in the club's history.

"He [the manager] was fantastic, very good throughout my injury," said Rogic, who underwent an operation in February and hadn't played since leaving the fray at half-time in a 2-1 victory against Dundee in December. "He was always speaking to me and giving me that added motivation to keep working hard. He has been talking to me a lot, telling me you can still learn even when you are not out on the training pitch and playing games.

"We always discuss things together, as he does with every player," the Australian added. "Without setting goals and targets, the manager is someone who I have learned from and I think everyone in the squad has. You take his advice and try to better yourself as an individual and keep working hard. I have been trying to learn as much as I can when I can and the motivation has been there to keep pushing to get back into the team."

As impressively as Stuart Armstrong has been playing in an advanced central midfield role, the return of Rogic allows Brendan Rodgers to field what is arguably his strongest central midfield axis, with Brown and Armstrong in behind the Australian, for the big games down the stretch. The Australian certainly should have no shortage of motivation, having both scored in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat against Rangers last season then missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.

"It has been a fantastic season and great to be a part of," said the Australian. "That is the good thing about this group, the players who aren't playing and the backroom staff, everyone is working together and everyone has been good to me while I have been injured.

"I did go home at one point, back in January," he added. "It is not easy. But you deal with it. There is not much you can do, so you just get on with it and work hard every day. It is finally good to be back on the pitch and now looking to build towards the end of the season.

"I have definitely had my rest. And there is still a lot to play for this season. We know that as a group and there is definitely no letting off - everyone is working hard together and we will keep pushing until there's no more games.

"For the team and the club it has been a fantastic year and a fantastic season and personally up until my injury things were going great and I still consider it a very good season. So, as I said, it is not finished, there is lots to play for and I hope to add to that and build and enjoy more success at the club."