Dedryck Boyata’s injury vs Rangers didn’t look good at the time, and Neil Lennon has confirmed our worst fears.
The Celtic interim manager has admitted that the centre-back may have played his last game for the club. With a maximum nine games of the campaign remaining, the season will be wrapped up at the end of next month.
Boyata couldn’t bring himself to stay on against Rangers due to a hamstring knock. Some fans weren’t happy with the defender for leaving the pitch without having been seen to. It seems as though, however, that Boyata perhaps knew himself what had happened to him.
Lennon opened up on the injury to Celtic’s star-man last night. Speaking in the Daily Record, the interim boss gave us the grim update.
“He felt it [hamstring] rip. He played on having felt a twinge and then he felt a rip five minutes later. Again, we’ll have to wait and see, but it’s a blow because he’s been absolutely brilliant. Possibly (Has he played his last game?)
“We just have to keep going. We have St Mirren on Wednesday and a [Scottish Cup] semi-final coming up.”
Scan results will reveal all
It’s looking pretty poor at this stage, but Boyata is still to have a scan. The Record states that he should find out the results of the scan within the next 48 hours.
Regardless, it would be a highly unceremonious end to his time at Parkhead. Boyata has been a decent acquisition since arriving from Manchester City in 2015. He grew into a massively important player under Brendan Rodgers, and it would’ve been nice for him to bow out in the Scottish Cup final.
With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, it’s not looking likely he’ll be here next year. Therefore, whether he would even be rushed back is doubtful too.
What it does do is provide the likes of Jozo Simunovic and Filip Benkovic with a chance to get back into the side. Lennon has a big decision to make in that regard. Considering Simunovic is the only centre-back out of the pair that’s contracted here next season, it could be worth throwing him back in.
But, in any case, it’s a shame to see such a talented player in Boyata potentially bow out so quietly.
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