It is a tough period for him- Brendan Rodgers opens up on his talks with Liel Abada

Brendan Rodgers has opened up on his talks with Liel Abada.

Two weeks ago Celtic beat Kilmarnock 3-1 with events in Israel and Palestine starting to dominate the headlines.

Abada has been out injured since the start of September and will have to wait until December before he can be considered for a return to action.

Being 22 and far from home is a big challenge, even more so when you are unable to play with each week looking the same as you report to the gym and check ups with the physio to see how your injury is progressing.

Rodgers spent the first week of the international break at his home in Mallorca but his mind was very much in Scotland with one particular issue requiring his urgent attention.

The Celtic boss told the Daily Record:

I’d flown back on the Sunday and I went to a charity game and I left that to go and pick up Liel and took him up to have a bit of food and just get to understand what he was thinking and the traumas he’s gone through and everything.

I don’t pretend to care about my players, I genuinely care about them. I always think that helps them play to a better level. That’s the whole idea about taking him out for a bite to eat.

He’s a football player but he’s 21 years of age and in a foreign country. It is a tough period for him. His father had been over with him for a month and he was going back the next day, so he’s had his girlfriend here and his father here but, of course, his mum is still back there.

So you have to be there for them and to support them. I think as we see from a distance, it’s a real sad state. There’s a togetherness at Celtic which has brought the club great success throughout the years.

Abada signed a new long term contract earlier this season, in his absence Rodgers has been trying out Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-jun on the right wing.