Neil Lennon has disclosed he was concerned that Celtic skipper Scott Brown could have suffered a bad injury in the Europa League win over Riga, the Daily Record reports.
Brown was caught in a horror challenge by Vladimirs Kamess, who really should have been sent-off instead of just booked.
Lennon was worried Brown might not be able to finish the game, but he did, although the Hoops boss is not sure if he will be fit to play against Hibs on Sunday.
“He was able to carry on”
“We were worried. We thought we might have to take Scott off. Thankfully he was able to carry on. There might be a bit of swelling there, so we’ll need to look at him also for the weekend” Lennon said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
Lennon’s comments show just how influential Brown is to the team, even if his performances aren’t the best at the moment.
The Celtic boss must have felt that Brown could still contribute to a tense game, which is why he will be so relieved that he was able to complete the game.
Deserves a lot of credit for playing on
Some players might have wanted to be substituted after the challenge, and you couldn’t blame them. However, Brown is made of strong stuff, even though his calf must have been hurting. He deserves a lot of credit for managing to play on.
As for the game against Hibernian, if Brown is struggling then there is no need to risk him. You could play Nir Bitton in the middle of the park. Perhaps David Turnbull could get his first start for Celtic.
It would not be a surprise to see Brown miss the weekend’s game. Neil Lennon will want him raring to go for the Europa League play-off against Sarajevo next week.
That won’t be an easy game for the Hoops, and Lennon will want his strongest team to play. For the Celtic boss will include Brown.
In other news, some Celtic fans praised Jeremie Frimpong’s performance against Riga.
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