The international break is a period of the footballing calendar that fills Celtic fans with dread. On top of missing watching their heroes every week, we also have the worry that some could get injured at such a crucial point of the season.
Any injury picked up now could have a big impact on how we go into the last remaining league games and, of course, the upcoming Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.
With the last of the internationals to be completed tonight, we will be closely watching how Alistair Johnston will fare with Canada against Honduras and Callum McGregor when he runs out against the Spaniards at Hampden.
However, there are three players that Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou doesn’t need to worry about in Hyeongyu Oh, Carl Starfelt and Sead Haksabanovic.
Starfelt was left on the bench last night as Sweden overran Azerbaijan 5-0 in the Friends Arena. He was also left on the bench for the 3-0 defeat to Belgium and although that may well be frustrating for the Hoops defender, it is certainly good news for Celtic that he gets a rest.
Oh, meanwhile, has had minutes in both of South Korea’s fixtures. He was also almost on the scoresheet against Uruguay this afternoon, but unfortunately his stunning strike was ruled offside.
And as for Haksabanovic, there was a concern that the Montenegrin winger could have suffered an injury after being subbed at halftime in the 1-0 win over Bulgaria at the weekend.
But after completing 77 minutes in the 2-0 loss to Serbia last night [Sky Sports], it does seem that the Hoops winger has been given a clean bill of health on his return to Glasgow.
Given that there are doubts about the status of important players such as Reo Hatate, Aaron Mooy and Daizen Maeda – at least this group are all fighting fit.
Celtic’s domestic month of destiny
Celtic face Ross County at Dingwall on Sunday, in a 12pm kick-off that will be broadcast on Sky Sports. The league fixture kicks off a busy April for the Hoops where they will face Rangers in the Premiership at Celtic Park on the 8th April and at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final on the 30th.
And sandwiched in between both these games? An away tie to Kilmarnock and a home match against Motherwell. April will certainly have a huge say in whether or not Ange can take a step towards a domestic treble which, if he completes it, will shoot his hero status with the Celtic support into the stratosphere.
In other news, VAR haunts Celtic Bhoy Hyeongyu Oh after stunning strike for South Korea.
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