Celtic interim manager Neil Lennon has stated that he expects all of his top stars to be fit for the Scottish Cup final.
A much-changed Hoops side overcame Hearts on trophy day today with a 2-1 success at Celtic Park. Mikey Johnston got both goals, with the likes of Jeremy Toljan, Nir Bitton, Oliver Burke, Karamoko Dembele, and Ewan Henderson all being given a chance.
That came at the expense of many of the current first-team stars. The likes of Mikael Lustig, James Forrest, and Scott Brown were all carrying knocks. Odsonne Edouard was also struggling, and none of the four featured at Parkhead today.
Questions will inevitably be asked of their availability for next week. Lennon, however, told the BBC pre-match that he believes all of his current stars will be fine for the cup final.
“We’re hoping James [Forrest] will be fine. Mikael Lustig should be fine. Odsonne [Edouard] has got a a tight hamstring. So we couldn’t take any chances with him.
“But they should all be fine. [Scott] Brown has an irritation in the toe, but again I’m fairly confident that will be okay.”
Big boost for Saturday
This is great news for the Hoops ahead of Saturday. It looks as though we’re going to be at our strongest for the cup final against the Jambos.
Today’s clash against Hearts felt like an end-of-season affair. It was no surprise it wasn’t the five-star performance that trophy days tend to be. At the very least, we got the points unlike last year’s 1-0 home defeat to Aberdeen.
At the end of the day, however, the most important aspect of today was making sure nobody picked up any further injuries. And fortunately, it seems as though the rest of the first-team stars that didn’t play today are set to take part against Hearts at Hampden.
In terms of today, not many made a strong case to be in the team for next week. Outside of Johnston, who put in a stunning performance in Paradise today, nobody else has likely forced their way in for the cup final.
And to top off the day, it looks as though we’ll be fully-fit and firing for the big one next week.
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