Ange Postecoglou is looking to line up some bounce matches as he attempts to get his full squad upto speed with the Champions League just five weeks away.
Celtic have four blank midweeks until the August 31 League Cup tie at Ross County but after that the fixture list is packed until the World Cup break in November.
So far Celtic have had only minor injuries to contend with but with six Champions League ties between September 6 and November 2 Postecoglou wants to have his squad at full strength.
Admitting that Carl Starfelt and Moritz Jenz won’t be available for today’s match against Aberdeen, the Celtic boss told the Daily Record:
We’ll try to get bounce games for him and one or two others like Carl and Aaron Mooy to make sure they’re ready. For our first three weeks, we’ve only got one game a week, which means we can manage the group through.
With five substitutes allowed in SPFL matches more players can get game time but Starfelt, Jenz and Mooy need to play in friendly matches to get them into contention for the competitive matches.
Bosun Lawal and Johnny Kenny played and scored for the Celtic B team yesterday but the Lowland League is restricted to players under the age of 20.
