Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Rangers - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 30, 2023 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Brendan Rodgers was unable to offer a definite timeline on the return of Callum McGregor but has admitted that Liam Scales will miss Saturday’s game against St Johnstone, his first absence since coming into the side in August against the Perth club.
McGregor was substituted at half time in the 7-1 victory over Dundee on February 28 and has missed the two matches since then.
The midfielder will miss out against St Johnstone and Scotland’s double header- with no guarantee that he will be back in the Celtic side away to Livingston on March 31.
? LISTEN: “He’s feeling good… we’ll assess it for the Livingston game when we get back”.
? Brendan Rodgers says Callum McGregor could make his Celtic return in just two weeks – but reveals Liam Scales will miss this weekend’s match against St Johnstone. pic.twitter.com/9yZdMitraf
— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) March 15, 2024
Cameron Carter-Vickers is fine, he has trained and looks good so that’s great he is available.
Liam Scales will miss the game, we think, he has picked up a knock in training. He has been so robust, everything about him has been great since he came into the team.
Sadly he misses this game because he has played every other minute but he should be back after the international break.
Playing on a plastic pitch is obviously a big factor for someone returning from a calf and Achilles injury.
With Reo Hatate only playing 20 minutes for Celtic since the end of October McGregor’s absence has created a big gap in the Rodgers’ midfield.
Paolo Bernardo, Tomoki Iwata and Daniel Kelly have all had spells replaced McGregor whose fitness is clearly a concern with a crucal SPFL match at Ibrox looming on April 7.
Could see CalMac returning to the team on the derby day itself,
with his probable substitution during the second half?
But, bottom line: we need him back for 7th, April.
Hopefully that’s the sevco bubble burst now 2 defeats in a row at home, but apparently that’s a good thing now going by all the positives in the written press,TV and radio.
Let’s go for the hat-trick of defeats for them c’mon the Dundee.
Something is very far far wrong with the system at Parkhead with that amount of injuries…
WTF is going on. Different injury every week.
Surely there are a couple of decent out of contract players oot there that would do a job for rest of season..? Who’ll be oot next week?
Shouldn’t be getting too far ahead of ourselves, especially when we are very much in the “One game at a time ” mode currently.
Easier said than done all the same?
Looking like Welsh will probably partner CCV tomorrow imo?
Think the largerman could be a better option myself?
Get the right result tomorrow first and then focus on living?
Biggest concern regarding livi, still remains that horrendous surface, and even worse with the possibility of returning players?
CCV would already be a big risk for that game alone, but would we be in a position to take such a risk, with the scum game the following week?
Same proposition could well apply to a number of players still?
That’s the sort of season it has been to date, without finding any form of stability whatsoever?
Could contribute to the huge inconsistencies within the performances also?
This has been possibly the most challenging season we have faced, that I can recall anyway?
Worst thing about it all is the manner in which we have contributed ourselves, to these challenges?
Yet this end of season still remains firmly in our own hands, despite the challenges we will still have to overcome?
Could well be potentially the best double that we could achieve, and still nothing available to prove ourselves wrong, not unless we still want to contribute to making these challenges to big for ourselves to overcome imo?