Lazio superstar Ciro Immobile only managed to play 15 minutes off the bench for his club on Saturday night after picking up a knock in a midweek match against Torino.
Immobile is ever-present for the Italian side when fit and remains a talismanic presence in the team despite his advancing years. The striker has netted three times in the early stages of the season.
Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri is hopeful he will be available for the trip to Glasgow to face Celtic on Wednesday night but has explained that he was a doubt to even come off the bench yesterday, which is far from ideal preparation.
Sarri said [Fanpage.it]: “Immobile? I think I’ll get him back for the Champions League. He didn’t come out of the Torino match well. This morning he was doubtful about playing and he felt something in his flexor.
“He spoke to the doctor and then to me. For the doctor there was a bit of risk, he didn’t feel like playing. So we decided to keep it open in case of need and see how it would go after the warm-up. And after the warm-up, he told me that it was better and he played a part of the match in which he risked much less.”
With Sarri also describing the Champions League as a ‘luxury’ [V Sport], Immobile might not be risked from the start on Wednesday night, especially with Lazio scrambling to turn around their Serie A fortunes.
Taty Castellanos would be the main contender to start against the Bhoys if Immobile again only makes the bench. He featured in the 2-0 defeat to Milan last night but has yet to score for the club since his summer move from New York City.
The Lazio team will be strong regardless of Immobile’s condition, Celtic certainly won’t be taking anything for granted. It’s going to require a huge performance from Brendan Rodgers’ side to secure three points.
The Scottish champions have had significant injury issues of their own to contend with recently, not least in defence. It’s going to be an exciting – and possibly dramatic – 90 minutes under the lights at Paradise.
In other news, What Brendan Rodgers told Celtic stars in dressing room after astonishing win over Motherwell.
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