Richie Towell could be in line for his Celtic debut against St Mirren.
A full-back crisis has catapulted the Irish u-19 international from fourth to first choice right-back in the space of a week.
On Thursday Celtic announced that Andreas Hinkel would miss the season after sustaining cruciate ligament damage during a training session before first choice Cha Du-Ri picked up a hamstring strain in the 2-0 Europa League win over Utrecht.
Utility man Mark Wilson hasn’t played in any of Celtic’s pre-season matches leaving Towell as an almost certain starter against St Mirren tomorrow.
Efrain Juarez could be moved to right-back but Neil Lennon will be reluctant to take him out of midfield after the Mexican’s impressive start to his Celtic career.
Lennon admitted: “Cha has a slight hamstring problem and worst-case scenario is he won’t be fit to play.
“The cruciate injury is a disaster for Andreas, never mind us. He is going to see a specialist in Germany next week, but we’ve had the scans and it’s not good for him.
“He twisted the knee and there was a trauma, too. He got a slight bang on it and felt it click straight away. As soon as our doctor Roddy Macdonald looked at it we feared the worst.”
Towell’s preferred position is as a central midfielder but he played last season at right-back for Celtic’s double winning u-19 side.
Despite missing out on the pre-season trips to North America and The Emirates Cup he played in the first team friendly against Blackburn at the start of the month and was on the bench against Utrecht on Thursday.
After the Blackburn match Lennon admitted: “Richie has improved a lot over the year. I had him in the development team last season and I’ve seen a gradual progression.
“He played really well for the 19s when they won the league and cup double and whenever we took him to England for development games he was a stand-out.
“Richie’s energy and drive are very good and he’s got better and better. His composure on the ball has improved as well and I think it manifested itself against Blackburn, I thought he was excellent.
“His desire and energy helps him get the ball back and move it on quickly and simply. Richie’s confidence was great to watch.
“He was saying ‘Look I’m here and I don’t feel out of place’. That sort of attitude really pleased me.”
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Five goal James Keatings helps youths to 8-0 win
good luck richie .
Pretty sure Juarez will be right back, ledley back into midfield with mulgrew at left back. We shall see tho. Hail hail.