Neil Lennon has dismissed rumours that Kieran Tierney is facing a further two months on the sidelines.
The defender hasn’t played since the title clincher at Aberdeen last season with his injury problems dating back to December last year.
Tierney has fully recovered from an end of season double hernia but is still working around a pubic issue that has prevented him from taking a full part in training.
After having two bids knocked back for the defender Arsenal have until 5pm on Thursday to meet Celtic’s price with Tierney’s fitness a factor in whether an offer will be made.
Celtic fans face an anxious time until the deadline passes but Lennon doesn’t see fitness as an issue over a third bid.
“I don’t think so, no, he’ll be fit in a week or two,” the Celtic boss told The Sun. “He still has some adductor pain but the pubic problem is starting to settle and he’s over the double hernia.
“I know there’s talk of him being out for another eight weeks, but that’s nonsense. I don’t know where that’s come from because that’s certainly not the case at all.
“Listen, he’s missed the whole of pre-season but I’d say he’s more or less a week away from getting back on the grass and getting back integrated to the training. You can add another week or ten days on top of that before he’s ready to play.”
Lennon also insisted that Celtic’s transfer business wasn’t dependend on receiving a fee for Tierney.
