Stephen Welsh has damaged ligaments in his ankle and will require surgery, ruling him out of the next three to four months of Celtic action.
It was reported on Saturday that the defender would be out for at least eight weeks, but in pre-match interviews today Brendan Rodgers confirmed he’ll be on the sidelines for even longer.
He told BBC Radio Scotland that the timeline is more like three or four months and that he’ll require an operation.
In separate comments made to TV broadcaster Viaplay, Rodgers noted the unfortunate nature of the injury, saying it came right at the end of Friday’s training session.
The injury is a bitter blow to Welsh who suffered the injury just hours after it was announced he had signed a new long-term contract with the club.
Rodgers had made the decision to make him one of his four prime defensive options for the coming season and the manager confirmed in interviews today he would have started at Rugby Park if not for the injury.
Now the opportunity to earn minutes in the early stages is over for the Academy graduate, who is facing a pretty long road of recovery and rehabilitation. The likelihood is he won’t be back involved with the squad in a meaningful fashion until after the winter break.
Contracted until the summer of 2027, the central defender at least has security and will know he has plenty of time to impress the manager when he returns to fitness. This injury may have been much harder to take if his future was still in doubt.
We wish Stephen all the best in his recovery and hope he manages to make it back into the squad without any further issues.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers calls for quality to arrive in late stages of Celtic transfer window.
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