Ange Postecoglou was giving away very little about a trio of injured players at today’s media conference.
Liel Abada, Jota and Reo Hatate won’t play against Motherwell tomorrow with all eyes moving towards the next fixture- at Hampden in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
Having all three fit and available would be a big boost but Abada and Hatate haven’t played since March 18 which would raise concerns about their match readiness even if they are physically fit.
Cameron’s trained all week and will play tomorrow. The only reason he didn’t play last week was because of the surface, I mentioned that before the game. He’s trained all week and is ready to go, from a fitness perspective nothing else changes all of the other lads (Hatate, Jota, Abada) are closer and training but won’t make this weekend.
Across the city Micky Beale was ruling Ryan Jack out for three or four weeks but the experienced Postecoglou won’t be sending out any similar messages.
Having Cameron Carter-Vickers in central defence brings an extra level of security with the former Spurs man often excelling in the Derby clashes although he was short of his best in the recent SPFL victory.
Postecoglou still has a very strong starting XI to put out but last week Ben Summers and Rocco Vata were used as substitutes with neither player having started a competitive first team game.