Brendan Rodgers issues four Celtic injury updates with one to miss derby against Rangers

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It’s mixed news on the injury front for Celtic with two positive and two negative updates delivered by boss Brendan Rodgers.

Celtic host Hibs in the Scottish Cup on Sunday as they seek to avenge the previous 2-1 loss to the Hibees in the Premiership.

That loss came off the back of a fantastic performance against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and it was clear to see legs were a bit weary in Leith.

But Celtic have now banked a full week’s training and Rodgers told reporters at his press conference on Friday that Hibs are in for a tough afternoon in Glasgow.

The Hoops manager said: “I think in this game, the context of the game is totally different to when we played a couple of weeks ago.

“We’ve had 150% focus this week on the game. The energy in the game will be totally different. I expect a difficult game. But I also expect Hibs to have a very difficult game also.”

So how fit is the Celtic first-team squad going into the quarter-final encounter against Hibs? Rodgers provided four injury updates at his presser.

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Liam Scales and Callum McGregor injury updates

Centre-back Liam Scales suffered a nasty knock to the face as Celtic beat St Mirren 5-2 in Paisley last weekend.

The Irishman was a first-half substitute in the game but managed to carry on valiantly at the heart of the defence.

But Rodgers thinks Scales will miss the Hibs game and said his cheekbone has been injured. He intimated: “Liam Scales will probably miss out, it’s a cheekbone from the St Mirren game.

“He showed great courage to continue with that, but he’s had an x-ray on that, so we have to be mindful of it. No (timescale on it), we’ll have to see on that next week.”

Rodgers then confirmed that his Celtic captain will be available to face Hibs. Callum McGregor came off in the second-half against St Mirren having felt his calf tighten up.

Rodgers said: “Yeah, he trained this morning, so he should be fine.”

Rodgers thinks Paulo Bernardo will miss Rangers clash

The manager also told reporters that defender Auston Trusty had been administered stitches after suffering a blow to head in Paisley.

That forced him off the pitch with Scales taking his place beside Cameron Carter-Vickers for the remainder of the match.

However, Rodgers has said the American is fine and is in contention to face the Hibees. But it’s more bad news concerning Paulo Bernardo.

Rodgers has confirmed he probably won’t be back in time to face Rangers in the Glasgow derby after the international break.

The Northern Irishman said: “No, Paulo won’t be in until after the international break. I doubt he will make Rangers, but definitely after that he should be okay.”

Do Hibs have any injury troubles?

Hibs manager David Gray also spoke to the press in the build-up to facing Celtic, where he is looking to collect two wins in a row against the champions.

Our very own Hibs loanee Kwon Hyeok-kyu will be ineligible to play against his parent club, while Gray offered updates on his captain Joe Newell and defender Warren O’Hora.

Gray told Hibs TV: “We’re in a good place. Obviously, Kwon can’t play because he’s on loan from Celtic, and Joe Newell still isn’t available.

“Warren O’Hora came off against Hearts last weekend. Hopefully that one isn’t as serious as we thought it was initially.

“We’re monitoring him all the time, but he’s still got an opportunity potentially. We will give him right up to the game to see whether he can be involved. 

“Everyone else is fit, available, and had a full week’s training. Everyone is confident, there’s a feel-good factor at the training ground, and we’ve got a fantastic game to look forward too.”