Leigh Griffiths’ injured calf will come in for incredible scrutiny over the next six days as Celtic prepare to face Rosenborg to keep alive their hopes of reaching the group phase of the Champions League.
With Moussa Dembele and Griffiths missing from the first leg there was a lack of focus to Celtic’s attacking play.
Although being without a natural striker contributed to the below par display the lack of match practise was obvious throughout the performance.
Numerous cross-field passes were over-hit while there was a general sluggishness about the way the team performed in the final third.
A fully fit Griffiths would be a massive bonus on Wednesday but with a question mark over the fitness of the former Hibs striker Brendan Rodgers is bound to run through another couple of options as he prepares for the match.
Attempting to put Tom Rogic or Scott Sinclair into that position backfired with neither player able to have their usual impact on the team.
To avoid the drama of a nail biting penalty shoot out Celtic will need to score in Norway, in among his squad there are three options that could step in to the side causing minimal disruption elsewhere.
JACK AITCHISON
Was included in the squad that travelled to Austria and the Czech Republic in pre-season but left out of the squads since then.
Over the last two seasons he has become used to playing the sole striker role with the u-17 and Development League teams.
He has a wealth of international experience for Scotland and scored against Valencia having just turned 15 in the UEFA Youth Cup.
Jack was left out of the Celtic Development squad that played Newcastle last night in the Whitby Town Challenge Trophy, If he gets a chance he’ll be ready.
NADIR CIFTCI
If the former Dundee United man appears in the side next week it will be one of the biggest turnarounds in a career ever.
Loan spells in Turkey and Poland have failed to have the desired effect with Brendan Rodgers happy to look at options to move the striker on.
He has been involved in first team training over the last few weeks, it’s a while back now but he did have one of his best Celtic performances two years ago in a similar fixture away to Qarabag.
CALVIN MILLER
Played the sole striker role in the Development League in the 2015/16 season before being moved wide last season, splitting his time between left wing and left back.
He has a bit more experience than Aitchison but it’s over a year since he played through the middle.
During the pre-season trip to Austria and the Czech Republic he was kept involved and is bound to be in Rodgers’ thoughts for this match.