Celtic’s injuries in Dubai will continue to frustrate Brendan Rodgers, as news is currently mixed.
Despite getting Filip Benkovic back training after his Ibrox injury, it appears there are other issues to worry about.
Kieran Tierney still hasn’t returned to full training for a start. Rodgers opened up and admitted that he wasn’t sure whether the left-back would need surgery on his knock. The Hoops are going to start trying him in training soon.
Added to that, Olivier Ntcham had to go off during a session earlier this week through a hamstring injury. He continues to nurse that as Celtic continue their preparations for the second-half of the season.
Finally, however, Odsonne Edouard has also yet to join in any of the training sessions with the squad in Dubai. The Celtic striker wasn’t at 100% at Ibrox, and had to be benched because of it. Now, Rodgers, however, claimed that he will at least be getting involved before the end of the week.
Touching on all of his injuries concerns, Rodgers gave some mixed news in the Scottish Sun.
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“He’s (Tierney’s) still not training. But he’s out here with us and with the rehab team so hopefully next week we’ll see if there is any reaction when he starts training.
“Does he need surgery. I’m not sure. I think we are just monitoring it and seeing how it is.
“Olivier felt his hamstring tight in training yesterday, so he’s going to have a scan on that. Odsonne will join in the training during the latter part of the week.”
A couple of blows
Ntcham isn’t exactly every Celtic fans’ favourite player right now, but losing him is still a big blow. The Frenchman is in a poor state at Celtic, and needs to find some form after the winter break. Any prospective injury knock seriously tarnishes this.
Then there’s Tierney, who’s been out for a month now. Many would’ve hoped he would’ve been flying in Dubai ahead of a return to first-team action. If surgery is still in question, however, it appears that Rodgers isn’t 100% certain on his condition.
Edouard’s return to training is a boost. Again, however, many would’ve hoped that the Frenchman would’ve been involved from the beginning in the UAE.
The big striker has plenty of competition for his place these days. Timothy Weah and Vakoun Issouf Bayo aren’t at Parkhead just to make up the numbers. Any injury to Edouard would be a huge set-back for him, but he appears to be on the mend.
Over the next week or so, supporters are likely to get some more clarity on several of these knocks. It’s imperative that the likes of Tierney and Edouard are at peak fitness soon.
So far, Dubai appears to have had its ups and downs.