It was one of the most asked questions since the start of the season – when will Christopher Jullien be back?

The defender suffered a horrendous injury when he collided with the post at the back end of 2020. The Frenchman underwent surgery, lengthy rehab and suffered many setbacks on his way to getting back into the team.

We then got a glimpse of Chris back in February when he made his first appearance in over a year against Raith Rovers.

Since then, Chris has not had any game time. He has struggled to get a place on the bench and as the season heads to a very tense finale, has this season passed Chris by?

It’s likely the defender has suffered some soreness or injury niggles which has meant he’s not made the squad. At this juncture, does Ange Postecoglou see the Jullien as someone who he’ll rehabilitate and bring into the team in pre-season this summer?

It seems very unlikely Chris will be thrown into the deep end before the season is over. Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt are both going well in the SPFL and have certainly been doing enough to keep their spots.

Jullien does offer a bit more in the way of height and defensive cover from set pieces, as well as being a threat at offensive set pieces.

Carter-Vickers is only here on a one-year loan deal. It stands to reason Ange might just hold off on Chris until next season.