Brighton boss Graham Potter acknowledges Shane Duffy had a "tough time" at Celtic after the defender's loan spell was cut short.
The Parkhead club paid around £2million to take the Ireland international on loan, with reported wages of £30,000 per week.
Duffy scored in his first two appearances but struggled badly thereafter.
He was criticised for his performances in big games against Sparta Prague and Rangers, and the centre-back hasn't featured since February.
An injury ended his season early and Duffy has returned to Brighton, with his manager admitting the loan to Celtic proved difficult.
Potter said: "He’s had a tough time, I would say. Sometimes in football things don’t go as you want them to go.
"Shane’s had some tough challenges off the pitch, losing his father just before he went to Celtic was a huge challenge for him, as you can imagine. He’s had to deal with a lot.
“He, more than anybody, would have liked it to have worked out better than it did up at Celtic but that’s football.
“From our perspective, he’s always welcome here, he’s been a fantastic servant for this club, well-liked in the dressing room, so it’s important for us now to help him get back on his feet and to put him in an environment where he feels secure and enjoys his football and that’s what we will try to do for the next couple of weeks.”
Duffy is not well-suited to Potter's high intensity passing game, one of the reasons he was allowed to leave on loan in the first place.
But the Seagulls boss insists it's too early to talk about what the future holds for the Irishman.
Potter explained: "He’s like quite a few guys, we have to sit down and plan and see where everybody is at because some players feel that they need to go and play and some players are happy being here.
“But now is not really the time to think about that; it’s a time to finish of the season well. Shane will be training with us and supporting the guys like he does all of the time.”
