Kolo Toure won’t be involved in tomorrow’s friendly against Barcelona in Dublin.
The defender signed a 12 month deal on Sunday following his release from Liverpool and was expected to feature at some stage in the show-piece clash.
After consulting with the club’s medical staff it was decided that Toure should continue to work on his fitness at Lennoxtown.
Brendan Rodgers had hoped that his former Liverpool star would be able to play a part in the Champions League second round tie against Astana but the odds on that have lengthened with Toure missing from the squad that flew to Dublin this afternoon.
First team coach John Kennedy explained: “Kolo is still working fitness-wise. He will stay back and do some extra work. It’s probably a bit early for him to play tomorrow, so if he stays at home he can get a few extra sessions in and we will assess that on Monday.
“If he shows the fitness levels are good enough then he’s an option (for Wednesday). It depends how he comes the next few days training. We will go with what we’ve got, which is pretty much similar to what we had in midweek.
Mikael Lustig was rested from the squad while Stefan Johansen stayed behind after his partner gave birth.
With Toure unlikely to be available to face Astana Rodgers looks like having to go with a similar defence to the one used in the first leg.
Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata appear to be no closer to fitness with Celtic just eight days away from the domestic kick off when they face Hearts at Tynecastle.
Further limiting Rodgers options a hand injury to Kristoffer Ajer leaves Efe Ambrose and Eoghan O’Connell as the only central defensive options with first team experience.