Celtic have sent Greg Taylor to see a specialist in a bid to get to the bottom of his shoulder complaints, according to the Daily Record.
Taylor came off on Saturday against Ross County once again clutching his shoulder. He did the exact same in Alkmaar last month in an injury that kept him sidelined for the Glasgow derby.
The Record reports that the player is unlikely to be fit for Thursday’s Europa League group stage opener in Real Betis. However, the main concern is ensuring when he does return that there isn’t a recurrence of the same injury.
The promising news is that his initial shoulder knock didn’t keep Taylor out for long. He missed one game and then missed the international break with Scotland. But he was deemed fit enough to be given a runout against County.
The left-back has been a regular under Ange Postecoglou this season. So far, Taylor has racked up 11 outings for the new man as he solidifies himself as the first-choice option in his position.
Celtic brought in Liam Scales in the closing days of the transfer window, whilst Adam Montgomery has been impressing in cameo roles this season.
Greg Taylor needs to get over shoulder injury blows; Celtic need him fit and available
Taylor isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That much has been made clear this season. However, he’s still the most senior left-back at the football club. We need him fit and firing if we want to be as strong as we can be.
In terms of Thursday night, the role looks set to be handed to Montgomery. He’s been Postecoglou’s second-choice left-back all season. Not to mention the fact he put in a sensational shift in front of a hostile atmosphere against Alkmaar a couple of weeks ago.
It looks a straight forward decision. Scales is only just in the door and this would represent far too big a game to throw him into the mix. In addition to that, Boli Bolingoli looks totally out of the picture too.
There is of course the option to put Josip Juranovic on the left side. Especially if Anthony Ralston is fit enough to return to the team on Thursday. That’s the move Postecoglou utilised at Ibrox and to decent effect.
But you just feel this is the perfect opportunity for Montgomery to burst on to the scene. He’ll be delighted with the cameo work he’s been getting this season. The truth is, however, he’ll have his eye on the next big breakthrough opportunity. Betis could be that fixture for him.
As for Taylor, we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery from his latest knock. All we can do is hope it isn’t too severe as he meets with a specialist.
In other news, Paul Lambert left extremely impressed with Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou
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