Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers suffers fresh injury blow, player now doubtful for St Johnstone
Yesterday, the Bhoys had to make an enforced change that saw Stephen Welsh come in as a last-minute selection in place of Cameron Carter-Vickers, who felt something in training in the lead-up to our 4-2 victory over Livingston.
Rodgers explained the latter’s absence, stating: “It’s just a precaution, really. We managed him through the last number of weeks, and he got through a full 90 last weekend. He just felt a little something yesterday in training. It was only a really, really light session.”
Hyunjun Yang was suspended for the Scottish Cup tie following his red card against Heart of Midlothian, enabling Nicolas Kuhn to take the mantle of providing creativity from the right flank.
South Korea international Yang is also ineligible to play this coming weekend against St Johnstone because he has been served with a two-match ban. His positional counterpart could now be granted a chance to impress on league duty.
Honduran winger Luis Palma was another body ruled out of facing David Martindale’s outfit after picking up a knock, stretching the Bhoys’ wide options thin at a crucial time in the season.
James Forrest came off the bench in the latter stages yesterday and impressed; meanwhile, Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Rocco Vata is available if needed.
According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic winger Palma is the latest member of Rodgers’ squad to be hit by a training ground injury, which has now made him a doubt to face St Johnstone this weekend.
The report states that the Irishman is hopeful the 24-year-old can recover and be in contention to feature against Craig Levein’s men.
However, Palma may be given the international break to recuperate fully, as Rodgers isn’t keen on taking any chances on his fitness ahead of the season run-in.
Since arriving from Aris last summer, the Honduras international has been a reliable contributor in green and white, racking up nine goals and ten assists in 30 appearances across all competitions [Transfermarkt].
Daizen Maeda is likely to continue on the left owing to his hat-trick against Livingston. Regardless, news that Palma is set for a longer-than-anticipated spell on the sidelines isn’t exactly encouraging.
Born in La Ceiba, Palma has fashioned 12 significant opportunities in the Scottish Premiership this term and is among our most resourceful outlets in the field of chance creation [Sofascore].
Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before he returns to the fold, with Celtic already depleted across several positions.
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