Ange Postecoglou's relieving Celtic injury update after a draining day

By David Walton

April 17, 2022

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has delivered a relieving injury update as he believes his players got through today’s Glasgow derby defeat without any serious knocks.

Celtic were hugely disappointing at Hampden as they were knocked out by Rangers in a 2-1 loss. The result ensures that the treble is now off the table as focus now swiftly turns to securing the league championship.

One of the most worrying signs of the day was the amount of players who appeared to be pulling up with injury complaints. Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic, Greg Taylor, and Daizen Maeda all seemed to struggle before coming off. Cameron Carter-Vickers, meanwhile, was limping at the end of extra-time.

But thankfully it doesn’t seem as though we’re going to have a list of walking wounded coming out of this one. As quoted by Premier Sports post-match, Ange said: “Liel I think just cramped up. He hasn’t played for a while. Maeda just ran himself into the ground so we had James Forrest come on for some extra legs.

“But apart from that I’m not sure, it seems that everyone else is okay.”

Celtic will now turn their attention to a trip to Ross County on Sunday afternoon in the Premiership.

Not a time for Celtic to have another injury crisis

It’s easy in times like these to sulk and not really give much thought to any injury problems. After all, today’s defeat will feel like the only thing that matters at the moment.

But those views will change big time come next week. When Celtic can go 3 points closer to title success against Ross County in the Highlands, we’re going to want our best players fit and available for it.

Now really isn’t the time for Celtic to suffer from another injury crisis. Not when we’re just a few games from winning the league. If there were 4 or 5 serious injuries to first-team stalwarts, it would make the challenge of getting over the line all the more challenging physically and mentally.

The positive for Celtic at this stage is that we have a full week to recover with no midweek match in between. That’s hugely important for Ange as he looks to bounce back with a win next week.

It can’t be underestimated just how big a solid response would be for the football club. If we dominate Ross County then all of a sudden the finishing line is in sight for us. All of a sudden an excitement would start to generate around the supporters.

We need our best players fit and available for that. Thankfully, it looks as though nobody has suffered anythign major.

In other news, John Hartson brilliantly sets the record straight on Ange and Celtic after derby loss