Borna Barisic has ruled himself out of Sunday’s Glasgow derby.
The defender scored for Croatia in their 2-1 win over Azerbaijan but only lasted 30 minutes of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat from Hungary after suffering a recurrence of his long running groin strain.
“It’s the same injury I had before on my left leg and I will miss a minimum of two weeks,” he told The Sun. “I’m sorry that I will have to skip the big derby with Celtic.
“Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I have had to miss the biggest match in Scotland either. Now I have to focus on recovery.”
Barisic was signed for £2m at the start of the season from Osijek but has shared the left-back berth with Andy Halliday after Jon Flannigan failed to impress.
The 26-year-old had a history of injuries which had hampered his development and missed out on Croatia’s World Cup squad due to fitness concerns.
After being injured against Hungary he was examined by a specialist in Zagreb before announcing that he wouldn’t be able to face Celtic.
A two week absence will take him past the three remaining pre-split fixtures with an extra week to recover due to his club failing to reach the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
