Celtic’s strength in depth has been questioned this campaign amid a spate of injury problems alongside varying levels of impact from some of their newer arrivals.
Brendan Rodgers has had to improvise in his squad selection, which has yielded varying degrees of success depending on the cover available at the time.
Lately, the Irishman has had to perform a midfield reshuffle due to Callum McGregor’s frustrating recent injury woes.
Speaking in the wake of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Heart of Midlothian last weekend, Rodgers gave a timeline for the potential return of his club captain.
He stated: “We have to be cautious with Callum because he’s such an influential player for us. Hopefully, he will only miss a game or two. He’s got another scan on Wednesday just to see exactly how bad it is.”
In a message to Steve Clarke, the former Liverpool manager also admitted that McGregor is unlikely to feature in Scotland’s international friendlies later this month against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
Tomoki Iwata assumed his role in the engine room last Sunday at Tynecastle; nevertheless, the Japanese midfielder struggled to assert control in the six position, though he was harshly penalised for a handball offence despite looking in the opposite direction during the unfortunate phase of play.
Undoubtedly, Celtic fans will have their fingers crossed that McGregor can make his comeback before too long as their side battle for a domestic double.
Gordon Dalziel thinks Celtic lack depth across their midfield
Pundit Gordon Dalziel has indicated that Celtic have a lack of depth in midfield, which is amplified by the current absence of McGregor.
The Raith Rovers icon also believes that someone from the remaining options left for Rodgers to choose from needs to stand up and be counted over the coming weeks.
The 61-year-old explained [Clyde 1 Superscoreboard]: “That would worry me going forward if I was a Celtic fan. McGregor, obviously is going to miss games, he’s a terrific player, he’s a terrific leader for Celtic.
“But it’s Celtic Football Club; if McGregor cannot play, if you’re just going to come out after the game and say, ‘We missed our captain, we missed our leader, we lost today,’ I don’t think that’s good enough.
“I think there are people in the middle of the park, or your squad, who are waiting for a chance. You’re bringing in international footballers, players worth millions, and paying them high wages.
“Is Callum McGregor a big loss to Celtic? Of course, he is.” He later finished by saying: “Would he have made a difference when going down to ten men? Probably, but somebody has to step up for me.
In truth, it is hard to disagree with Dalziel’s statement, given that the options in midfield when McGregor is removed from the equation aren’t exactly awe-inspiring.
Paulo Bernardo has produced in flashes; meanwhile, we have yet to consistently see the best of Odin Thiago Holm and Iwata due to their lack of involvement over a prolonged spell under Rodgers’ stewardship.
Daniel Kelly has emerged as a bright spark off the bench; however, it remains to be seen who will take the chance to seize the mantle before McGregor comes back into contention.
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