Ange Postecoglou admits the facial injuries sustained by Celtic captain Callum McGregor will continue to be ‘managed’ but that he has come out of Wednesday night’s derby against Rangers really well.
McGregor revealed after the derby that he’s currently playing with breaks in two different places in his face right now, after suffering the horror injury against Alloa in the Scottish Cup.
He was desperate to return for the derby but many people have wondered whether he will now drop out of the side again, to allow further healing in his face.
Postecoglou told Sky Sports this afternoon: “It’ll still probably need to be managed. A lot of it will depend on how Callum himself and how he feels. But he got through the other night really well. The whole group did.
“It was taxing physically, for sure. We put a lot of effort into that first 45 minutes. There were a few tired and sore bodies yesterday but today everyone trained
“We’ve got Tom Rogic available now and Nir Bitton is available after being suspended.”
I could see a scenario where McGregor sits out of Sunday’s trip to Fir Park, replaced by Bitton or Rogic. Bitton could be a like-for-like replacement while Rogic’s inclusion may even see Reo Hatate move back into a deeper position.
The key thing is Postecoglou has options and so does the captain. No risks need to be taken on his long-term health, mask or no mask.
McGregor is absolutely crucial to Celtic but he could be more useful against Aberdeen at Pittodrie than this weekend if Postecoglou has to make a decision on one or the other.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou’s brilliant touch of Celtic class you may have missed today.
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