Any talk of Ciro Immobile’s injury knock keeping him out of the Celtic game should be dismissed for now.
The Italian striker is fresh off of his 100th goal for the club after a fine strike at AC Milan. The clash on Sunday was a fine example of how much quality actually exists in this Lazio side, as they notched a 2-1 success at the San Siro.
But there were a couple of notable incidents that occurred in the match too outside of the goals. Both Immobile and Felipe Caicedo came off with knocks. The latter came off with some real shoulder discomfort, and can be labeled a doubt for the Celtic clash.
Immobile, however, walked off without looking like he had any serious problems. And a report from popular Lazio outlet Cittaceleste claims that he came off with “nothing serious”. They state that Simone Inzaghi replaced him as a “precaution” and that his leg pain was “nothing unbearable”.
This puts a different spin on how serious his injury knock is. It’s clear that the answer is not very.
Lazio need to go for broke – Immobile shouldn’t miss out
Lazio have used up all of their lives in this group. They’re at the stage now where they have to start producing wins or they’ll be knocked out of the competition.
With that in mind, Inzaghi is hardly going to leave Immobile out just because of a precautionary substitution on Sunday night.
Immobile will have then had four full days to recover and be part of the game. Considering all that’s at stake for Lazio, they’ll be doing all they can to make sure he’s fit and ready.
Nobody connected with Celtic should be getting their hopes up here. The idea of him being sidelined for Thursday night is a seriously optimistic one.
Celtic’s defence are going to be in for their toughest night of the season this week. Not many are expecting us to take our first ever win on Italian soil. And much of this pessimism comes from what Lazio have going forward.
It looks likely that the Italians will start with the duo of Immobile and Joaquin Correa up top. If Luis Alberto plays from the midfield, that’ll be another big concern to deal with. Alberto missed out the game at Celtic Park nd is the club’s highest assist maker this season
With Lazio needing to kick-on in this competition, it looks unlikely that they’ll hold the likes of Immobile back.
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