John Kennedy has signed a new three-year contract at Celtic which will see him stay at the club until 2010. The 23-year-old suffered a career-threatening injury to his knee on his Scotland debut against Romania in March 2004.

After several operations and a long recovery process, the big defender made his return to first-team action last weekend at Rugby Park in the 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock which secured a second consecutive SPL title for Celtic.

After the title-clinching game at Kilmarnock, Celtic manager Gordon Strachan described Kennedy's return as "a fairytale", adding: "It's made the club feel really good about ourselves  - winning the league and having John back."

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell paid his own tribute to Kennedy today, telling www.celticfc.net: "This is tremendous news for the club. John has shown a real strength of character to overcome the injury problems which he has faced in recent years.

"His return to the first team last weekend and his performance were real highlights on what was a memorable day for the club. John is most deserving of this new contract and we are delighted he will remain at the club and hopefully play his part in our future success."