A report in The Sun claims that Kris Ajer and Moi Elyounoussi will be clear to play against Hibs on Saturday.
The Norwegian duo flew back to Scotland yesterday on scheduled flights after UEFA were forced to cancel last night’s Nations League match against Romania.
After calling off a friendly against Israel on Wednesday the Norwegian Government has taken a hard line stance against the virus while others across Europe have allowed elite sportsmen to operate to different rules due to the regularity of testing involved.
Reports from Norway claim that the players were allowed to return to their clubs on condition that they Quarantine until November 23 despite different rules being in place across Europe.
There has been silence from UEFA and the Scottish Joint Response Group on the issue but in mid-afternoon today The Sun reports:
Parkhead chiefs were worried they’d be ruled out of their weekend clash with Hibs. SunSport understands, however, that Celts believe the SFA and SPFL’s Joint Response Group will rule that the players are okay to play.
The general public must isolate for 14 days when they return from overseas countries perceived to be at high risk. But there are exceptions made for elite sportsmen – as well as team officials and UEFA observers – even if they return to the UK on scheduled flights.
Celts were concerned that they’d lose Ajer and Elyounoussi in the same way they lost previous players. Odsonne Edouard, Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed have all missed games in the last month. Ryan Christie was also ruled out after he was ruled to have been in close contact with infected Stuart Armstrong, who tested positive, on International duty with Scotland before the crucial Euros clash with Israel.
Last month Celtic discovered that there were different regulations in place in Scotland and England when Kieran Tierney played for Arsenal while Ryan Christie remained in self-isolation.