The Key talking points from Brendan Rodgers’ Scottish Cup press conference

Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to make a better attempt at the Scottish Cup this season than he did the Viaplay Cup, and after brushing aside Buckie Thistle in the previous round, Celtic will be turning their attention to a trip to Paisley to face St Mirren.

Before that match however, Brendan Rodgers would speak to the media, and some of the squad updates that Rodgers revealed may not provide Celtic supporters with a lot of optimism.

Here are the key talking points from Brendan Rodgers’ press conference:

Injury Updates

Alistair Johnston was stretchered off at Easter Road after suffering a nasty clash of heads, something that saw Celtic rewarded with a penalty that led to Adam Idah’s opening goal.

The Canadian posted on Instagram shortly after, praising his teammates from his hospital bed. He suffered a head knock at Easter Road earlier in the season as well which wasn’t as bad as once thought, but Rodgers revealed that Johnston won’t be available for this weekend’s fixture. There are fears that there may be a slight fracture on the right side of his head but further scans are needed to find out the full extent of the injury. With no Johnston, Anthony Ralston is expected to be the man to fill in.

Cameron Carter-Vickers won’t be in contention for a start this weekend either. He is back on the training pitch but will still need a few more weeks before returning to the field, meaning we will most likely see Maik Nawrocki and Liam Scales on Sunday.

It was reported earlier in the week that Greg Taylor may be back in time for this weekend’s fixture, but Rodgers revealed that he still doesn’t know the complete picture.

The manager stated that Taylor was very close, but was still unsure as to whether he will be available for the trip to Paisley. Alexandro Bernabei earned some plaudits for his performance at Easter Road and will keep his place in the team should Taylor not return to fitness in time.

Oh and Yang fit and ready

Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun both returned from the Asian Cup following South Korea’s exit in the semi-final stage at the hands of Jordan in a massive shock result.

The pair featured sporadically throughout the tournament, predominantly from the bench, and because of this they have both returned from Qatar fit and ready to go, with Rodgers confirming that they trained well on Friday.

The New Blue Card

The manager earned a few laughs from the press room when asked about his thoughts on a potential blue card coming to football next season.

If a blue card is brandished, it would bring with it a 10-minute sin bin, a bit like rugby, and is handed out for acts such as cynical fouls and arguing with the referee.

Rodgers jokingly stated that they will need a green card as well as a blue one or else there might be trouble.

His serious answer was that it overcomplicates things and that it isn’t needed in Scotland at this moment.

JAMES MCKENZIE