Kris Commons: Hibernian return 'in the pipeline' after back operation

Kris Commons scored twice for Hibs last season

Kris Commons has hinted at a possible return to Hibernian as he continues his recovery from a back operation.

Former Scotland forward Commons, 33, had an emergency loan spell at Hibs last season and is now a free agent after leaving Celtic.

"A lot of people know that me and [Hibs head coach] Neil [Lennon] really get on," Commons told BBC Radio Scotland.

"But not only that, I really enjoyed my time at Hibs. It's a good time to be a part of the league."

When asked on Sportsound whether Hibs was his likely next move, Commons said: "I said on a station the other day that, you know, it is in the pipeline.

"I think what they're doing at the minute, along with the likes of Hearts and Aberdeen, they're really investing in this league and investing in players to make them better and try to bridge the gap between them and Celtic."

Lennon (right) signed Commons for Celtic

Commons, who previously worked with Lennon at Parkhead, scored twice in five appearances for eventual Championship winners Hibs over December and January but did not feature for Celtic in season 2016-17, having scored 91 goals in 226 appearances for the club, winning five league titles.

"I feel like it's the light at the end of the tunnel now," Commons said of his recovery from back problems.

"I've had 12 months of really frustrating lows where I've had four epidurals. The next one was always going to be, 'right, this one should sort it out, you should be okay now'. But the problem never went away so the only outcome was an operation.

"It's been three weeks now since I've had the back operation. I'm still just doing the basics and hopefully I can get the green light sooner rather than later so I can get back in the gym and get back on the training field and do what I do best.

"Everything went well so I'm feeling a lot better. I'll not know just yet until I'm out there playing.

"You want to be playing, you want to be going out at the top of the level that you're capable of.

"If I can get back playing football then that would be ideal. You don't want to be hanging up the boots when they've not really been dirty."