Brendan Rodgers said that Kieran Tierney is ‘highly unlikely’ to make Saturday’s Glasgow Derby against Rangers.
The manager made the admission during his BT Sport post-match interview following Celtic’s 4-3 win against Aberdeen.
Tierney has been struggling with a hip injury recently and has missed Celtic’s last four games.
Rodgers described Tierney’s injury as ‘unfortunate’, saying its highly unlikely he features on Saturday.
The manager said: “He is clearly a question mark (for Saturday).
“In the next 48 hours we will see.”
However, was Rodgers playing mind games by announcing Tierney’s probable absence so early?
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Tierney is one of the first names on the Celtic team sheet. With no adequate cover available, it’s imagined that Celtic would give him every chance to prove his fitness.
Izaguirre was hooked at half-time against Aberdeen after a horrific half at Pittodrie.
His afternoon was summed up when he gave away a stupid penalty to let the home side back into the game.
Jonny Hayes replaced him, but he’s much more of a winger rather than a full-back.
If Tierney isn’t available for Saturday, Rodgers may find himself with a tough decision to make.
With his status at highly unlikely, it appears Hayes’ cameo as a left back may continue for another game.
Mind games
It is hard to determine if Rodgers was indeed playing mind games ahead of Saturday’s derby.
He has no previous record of indulging in such tactics before a big game at Celtic.
If he says Tierney is highly unlikely to make the game, then we have to take him at face value.
However, it seems odd that he’d rule his star man out so early.
Tierney may indeed line up for Celtic on Saturday at Ibrox. Lets be honest, they desperately need him.