Chris Jullien and James Forrest look like remaining absent for some time to come.
The Frenchman hasn’t played since the 5-0 win at Ross County on September 12 while Forrest hasn’t been involved since his ankle injury flared up against Riga 12 days later.
Both players were regulars throughout last season but ahead of a vital run of fixtures they’ll be watching from the sidelines.
The Scotsman reports:
Meanwhile, Celtic will have the prognosis on James Forrest’s ankle problem in the coming days after the winger visited a specialist as a result of the injury not healing as expected. There is no timescale on a possible return for Christopher Jullien either, with the defender scheduled to undergo another week of intensive treatment in Germany on a back complaint. It is believed inflammation of the spine is proving particularly painful, though no major issues have shown up in scans.
Forrest’s absence initially left Jeremie Frimpong as the wide right option although at Aberdeen on Sunday Ryan Christie took on that role.
Jullien’s back injury has led to further changes at the back with Hatem Abd Elhamed, Nir Bitton and Stephen Welsh playing at the back.
Bitton and Odsonne Edouard are back in training but might be left out of the squad to face Lille tomorrow to focus on being fit and available for Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
