Celtic boss Neil Lennon had to watch some of his players feature in an international double header over the past week.
One such player was the Hoops’ right-back Hatem Abd Elhamed. He managed to come through both 90 minutes for Israel, but manager Neil Lennon disclosed that he had been suffering with a virus during the international break.
However, he is confident that the £1.6 million signing will be available to take on Ross County.
“Elhamed had a bit of a virus in between the two games, but he played in the second game so should be fine for tomorrow” he told the club’s official Twitter account.
Elhamed might be available for the game, but perhaps the more pertinent question is will he start the game? He was left out of the Celtic team for the Hoops’ last two league games, and replaced by Moritz Bauer.
Didn’t play in recent Hoops missteps
The Hoops picked up one point from six from those two games. That is not down to Bauer, who actually performed well in the draw with Hibs.
However, it might well persuade Neil Lennon that Elhamed should return to the starting line-up against Ross County.
But then he has to weigh up the fact that Elhamed played two games for his country whilst Bauer wasn’t in action over the international break.
Will manager continue to rotate right-backs?
It will be interesting to see if Neil Lennon continues to rotate his right-backs throughout the season. He has not done that with his left-backs, so must feel that there is still a battle to be won to be Celtic’s number one right-back.
Perhaps the Hoops boss will start Bauer against Ross County, and Elhamed against Lazio. That could be the plan for the future. At some stage a permanent right-back will need to be chosen. It has to be hoped that Neil Lennon makes the right decision.
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