Celtic captain Callum McGregor has stated that he’ll need to continue wearing his face mask for “another few weeks”.
The Hoops’ on-field leader has had to perform with the restrictive mask on since suffering a broken cheekbone in the 2-1 Scottish Cup win at Alloa back in January.
McGregor initially made his return to action in the 3-0 Premiership mauling of Rangers at Parkhead last month. Since then, he’s been an ever-present as he continues to perform at peak levels despite his new match-day attire.
And speaking to 67HailHail last night, McGregor stated that he isn’t close to having to take it off during games just yet:
“I’ll probably still need it for a wee while. I think that’s 5 and a half weeks or something like that, so probably still another few weeks to go.
“As long as it’s strong enough then I’m not going to ditch it if I still need it. It is healing well. General day-to-day stuff is fine. Obviously I still need it fro the contact bit of training or matches as well. But it is getting better which is positive.”
Face mask not bothering Callum McGregor as he continues to lead Celtic’s title-charge
It must be something of a different experience for McGregor having to play with his new face mask. But even more impressive is how he’s ben playing through the pain in recent weeks.
Make no mistake about it, it won’t have been painless. Not if he’s recovering from broken cheekbones. The fact he’s managed to put in the standard of performances he has done in recent weeks is a major credit to him. It shows exactly the kind of commitment Ange will want in his players.
It doesn’t appear to be affecting his performance levels whatsoever. He seems relaxed playing in the face mask, so in that sense, perhaps it’s not a big deal for him regarding when it has to come off.
Then again, he’ll surely be looking forward to the freedom of carrying out his work without the protective gear on his face. It still can’t be overly comfortable even if he has gotten used to it in recent weeks.
Regardless, it’s clearly playing a role in his cheekbone recovery, and that was the main thing. McGregor hasn’t suffered any knocks or facial injuries since he started playing with the mask. Therefore, given we’re nearly a month and a half on from the initial injury, hopefully it’s not long before he’s back at 100%.
For now, however, he’ll have to continue to cope with the constant media wordplays surrounding his mask!
In other news, Pat Bonner brilliantly piles title pressure on Celtic rivals after another big night for Ange
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