The mask returns!
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v St Mirren - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - March 2, 2022 Celtic players huddle before the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
Five months after its first appearance the mask is back in pre-season training.
Back in the depths of January Callum McGregor suffered a serious looking facial injury during the Scottish Cup tie against Alloa. Yosuke Ideguchi was also on the receiving end in that match.
The captain missed Celtic’s next two matches, away to Hearts followed by a home win over Dundee United then something unexpected happened.
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Facing a Glasgow derby that offered Celtic the chance to go to the top of the SPFL Premiership, McGregor turned up wearing a protective mask as Ange Postecoglou’s side stormed to a 3-0 victory. Once in front there was no stopping the relentless Celts as they followed that up with a win at Ibrox on route to reclaiming the SPFL trophy.
The mask remained. Last month it briefly gave Scotland hope against Ukraine before Scotland crashed out of the World Cup on a 3-1 defeat.
Clearly the facial injury has long term consequences, five months on McGregor still requires protection from that brutal night at Alloa.