Celtic have been ravaged by injuries over the last few weeks with a couple of mid to long-term lay-offs throwing an early spanner into the works of Brendan Rodgers’ second spell as Celtic boss.
First-team starters and rotation options have been out of action and these injuries come at a bad time with busy few weeks coming up where Celtic will travel to Ibrox for the first derby of the season as well as a Champions League group stage campaign.
The amount of injuries and the quick timeframe in which they have come around has led to many supporters harking back to the first few months under Ange Postecoglou where a similar spate of injuries led to Ange’s squad looking very thin. However, Ange’s Celtic side rode out the injury wave and went on to win a league and League Cup double.
Two years on, fans will be hoping Rodgers can navigate his way through this tough period in a similar fashion.
Alistair Johnston
Fans discovered during pre-season that Johnston was going to take around eight weeks to recover from ankle surgery he received during the off-season. The Canadian international slotted in seamlessly during the last campaign and the 24-year-old could be in contention for Saturday’s fixture against St Johnstone after he was pictured back in training last Friday. Fans fell in love with the fight and grit that Johnston showed on the park and it’s a testament to his character as he returns to the squad prematurely. Having some minutes in the legs of Johnston ahead of the derby will be vital.
Cameron Carter-Vickers
The American suffered a hamstring injury against Aberdeen at Pittodrie which saw him substituted at half-time after an out-of-sorts first-half for the 25-year-old. An exact timeframe hasn’t been confirmed for how long the defender will be out of action but reports suggest that Celtic will be without Carter-Vickers for the trip to Ibrox on 3rd September. With the importance of the American to Celtic and the defence absolutely vital, Carter-Vickers will be a massive miss if these reports are to be believed.
Maik Nawrocki
New signing Maik Nawrocki has had a steady start to life at Celtic as he was thrust into a starting berth from the offing. However, his early stages at Celtic have hit a speed bump as it was announced just last night that he has picked up a hamstring injury and will be touch and go for the trip to Ibrox. However, the centre-back injury issues don’t end there.
Stephen Welsh
Fresh from signing a new contract, it was announced just hours later by Brendan Rodgers at his press conference that Stephen Welsh had picked up a knock and would miss the trip to Rugby Park. Images circulated later that day of the 23-year-old in a moon boot which suggested something more serious. Rodgers later revealed that Welsh had ruptured his ankle ligaments with an estimated recovery period of around 3 to 4 months. A massive hit for a player who desperately needs minutes for his development.
Yuki Kobayashi
Whilst the Japanese centre-back doesn’t look to be held in the highest regard by Rodgers, he could have been useful in the face of the current injury crisis. However, Kobayashi is currently injured as well and isn’t expected to return to the set-up until around September time. This leaves Celtic with just Gustaf Lagerbielke, Liam Scales and Tomoki Iwata for the centre-back berth.
Reo Hatate
The latest news on Reo Hatate’s Celtic return came straight from Brendan Rodgers. The Japanese was subbed off almost straight after coming on the the park at Pittodrie and Rodgers has reaffirmed that the injury isn’t long-term. This provides a positive update for Celtic fans who hope that Hatate will win the race for fitness in time for 3rd September.
Oh Hyeon-gyu
It was reported two weeks ago that Oh Hyeon-Gyu would be out for six weeks after suffering a calf injury in pre-season against Athletic Club. With Celtic desperately lacking inspiration from the bench, the South Korean’s return will be well received by supporters after an impressive eight months at the club.
Marco Tilio
The Aussie winger came in with a good reputation back in his homeland and also arrived with an injury of which Celtic were aware of. Rodgers stated that Tilio would miss the first few months of the season but he didn’t make the timeframe abundantly clear. Fans are eager to see what the 21-year-old can offer and hopefully he will be fit soon.
JAMES MCKENZIE
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