Hatem Abd Elhamed’s injury yesterday was by far the biggest concern of the afternoon.
The new Celtic right-back impressed during his debut in the 7-0 destruction of St Johnstone. Elhamed showed good power and composure on the ball, whilst constantly darting up and down the right flank. He played a key part in the opening goal, and all-round it was the perfect start to his Celtic career.
Or almost perfect at least. Elhamed had to go off midway through the second half as he clutched his leg. For some, there could’ve been fears that he had tweaked his hamstring the way he was holding his thigh.
But, fortunately, Lennon revealed after the game that it was simply a dead leg. Speaking to Celtic TV, Lenny confirmed his hopes that he has him back for Wednesday.
“It’s a dead leg. He was struggling a little bit so hopefully he’ll be okay for Wednesday.
“I thought the two full-backs were outstanding. Boli one side and Hatem on the other – we have real pace and power there, which obviously was very pleasing to see on a debut (Elhamed.
“It can’t be easy playing in front of that (capacity) on his debut, but he looked like he’d been playing out there for a long time.”
Hatem Abd Elhamed’s injury at least won’t be long-term
Regardless of whether he makes Wednesday night or not, it’s great to see that Elhamed’s injury most likely won’t be for the long-term. That was the fear when he clutched his leg after feeling a bit of pain. Lennon’s comments, however, disprove any notion of that.
As for his performance, Elhamed has so much to be pleased about. Like Lennon says, he looked like he had been playing in this Celtic team for a long time. He connected well with his team-mates, and got into some seriously promising attacking positions.
Next Saturday, should he be fit, will mark his first serious test in a Celtic jersey. Celtic travel to Fir Park to face an in-form Motherwell side, and Elhamed should be tested a touch more defensively in that one.
But he proved during his first outing that he has the attributes to be our long-term Mikael Lustig replacement. It may only have been one performance, but he showed he has the qualities. Whether he can bring the consistency is the big question now.
If Elhamed misses out on Wednesday night, you would expect Kristoffer Ajer to slot back into the right-back position. Sure, it’s not ideal, but the fact we haven’t yet signed a back-up is why we’re in this position.
Christopher Jullien and Jozo Simunovic will be back available for Wednesday night too. Therefore, we should still be well stacked at the back in any case.
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