Neil Lennon isn’t expecting to have James Forrest available until into the new year.
The winger has been a key part of Lennon’s success in his two stints at Celtic but hasn’t played since the Europa League tie away to Riga on September 24.
After missing a few matches it was revealed that he had been playing with a stress fracture of his ankle that would require surgery.
On November 4, discussing Forrest, Lennon told Sky Sports:
His foot was in a pot, a boot, for the last couple of weeks but when it came out of the boot there was no significant improvement, in fact it was getting worse. So he went to see a specialist and he recommended the surgery being done, and it was done yesterday.
We think it has been a success but we are looking at quite a considerable time out still. Best-case scenario is probably six to eight weeks – but it may be longer than that. We will see how he settles after the surgery.
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Asked for an update on Forrest ankle injury at today’s media conference Lennon said:
Jamesy is still quite a bit away. He’s had surgery, you’re looking at another six to eight weeks but he’ll be fit for the Euro’s probably and again I’m sure that’s a huge incentive for him as well.
Ryan Christie and Jeremy Frimpong have stepped in to replace Forrest on the right but neither provide a like for like alternative to the 29-year-old.
With 10 matches coming in during December including a Scottish Cup Final against Hearts Forrest is going to be missing over a crucial stage of the season.
It looks like mid-January looks like the best scenario for a return of the winger but with pitches and weather conditions at that stage of the year often a problem Forrest could be out a little longer than expected.
