Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that none of the players who were ruled out of last week’s win over Rangers will be available for the trip to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Reo Hatate, Liel Abada, James Forrest and Anthony Ralston will all be missing for the Rugby Park clash as the Bhoys look to take one step closer to the Scottish Premiership title.
The Bhoys boss told Sky Sports Scotland today: “No real change from last week. All the boys who missed last week will miss out again. All of them are working their way back to be involved in the next week or so, but at the moment it’s the status quo.”
The hope will be that Hatate is at least available for next week’s visit from Motherwell at Celtic Park. That would give him a chance for game time ahead of the huge upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden against Rangers
Hatate has been a big miss to the Celtic midfield since his injury. His quality, vision and composure in the middle of the park has delighted supporters this season, particularly in the last few months following the World Cup break. Having him back for the derby is crucial.
For now, Postecoglou does have plenty of midfield options with Callum McGregor, Tomoki Iwata, Aaron Mooy, Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull all available for the match in Ayrshire on Sunday.
The other injury issues aren’t too much of a concern either. Alistair Johnston is ahead of Ralston right now while Jota, Daizen Maeda and Sead Haksabanovic are strong options on the wing without Abada and Forrest.
The squad available to the manager should be more than capable of picking up three points at Rugby Park. Celtic have won all three of the encounters against Kilmarnock this season, including a 5-0 away victory at the start of the campaign.
In other news, Michael Beale admits his verdict of Celtic derby refereeing call was badly wrong.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
