Neil Lennon hints that Kieran Tierney won’t play for Celtic against Rangers

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Kieran Tierney’s availability for Sunday has been strongly cast into doubt by Neil Lennon.

The Celtic boss had to hook Tierney at Pittodrie on Saturday after just returning from injury. The Scottish sensation will be going for a double hernia operation in the summer in a bid to get him fit for the Champions League qualifiers next term.

But as for the short-term, question marks will immediately arise over his availability for the Rangers and Hearts matches over the next three weeks.

Lennon, however, is now prioritising keeping Tierney healthy for the Scottish Cup final. Speaking to the BBC (20:45) post-match on Saturday, the interim boss said keeping the left-back fresh was now his main goal.

“Yeah absolutely (will look to rest Tierney). Maybe not until the cup final, but we’ll just gauge it. You can see he’s putting his body on the line week-in, week-out. He has a fantastic attitude and is a fantastic player – he did his bit again today.

“Yeah, he’ll be wrapped up in cotton wool until he’s ready to play again.”

A return against Hearts at Parkhead?

If we’re looking to keep Tierney rested up, surely he can’t compete against Rangers. Given the physicality that game will likely bring, playing the Celtic hero considering his injury problems would be a recipe for disaster.

Lennon’s words about perhaps featuring him before the cup final are intriguing though. It seems as though he’ll likely therefore target Hearts at Parkhead on trophy day as a time to return Tierney to action.

As terrific a player as he is, Tierney wasn’t ready to return against Aberdeen. He never looked right from the start, and you can tell he’s playing through the pain barrier for us.

Celtic have both Jonny Hayes and Emilio Izaguirre in reserve. Hayes has proven himself to be a reliable alternative for a variety of positions this season. Izaguirre, meanwhile, has tasted previous success at Ibrox when selected under Brendan Rodgers.

There’s no need to risk Tierney just because we’re playing Rangers. It seems quite clear that’s Lennon’s view on it too.

It may be wise to leave him out until the cup final, but that depends on how he’s feeling over the next 10 days or so. If we see him on trophy day, we have to be certain he’s strong enough to feature.

It’s positive to see Lennon not taking any more risks with our prized asset.