Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi’s return to action could be tonight, according to a report from the Daily Record.
The Record has published a list containing Celtic’s provisional squad to face Livingston this evening at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Victory for the Hoops will, at least, consolidate their 12-point lead at the top of the Premiership.
But it looks as though our options have been given a boost with the inclusion of Elyounoussi. The report has him in the provisional squad and even in the predicted XI.
That would be a big positive heading into tonight, particularly after Neil Lennon’s comments at the weekend. Before our 1-0 Scottish Cup success against St Johnstone on Sunday, the Hoops boss said the following regarding Mo to BBC Sportsound on Radio Scotland (01/03, 14:26)
“Elyounoussi picked up a hamstring strain yesterday, so he didn’t make it.”
Elyounoussi was one of few to impress vs Livingston in October
When Celtic visited the Tony Macaroni Arena back in October, not many left with their heads held high. Elyounoussi, however, was one positive from the 2-0 Premiership defeat.
Indeed, he was making plenty of direct runs and used that power he has to muscle his way into good areas. Often, his final ball was getting cut out, but he was the only attacking player who made a positive impact on the game.
It’s great to see him back for that reason, but it’s also brilliant knowing that the hamstring strain isn’t a serious one. Depending on the grade of the injury, players can be out for either days all the way up to months on end. For Mo, it seems to have been the latter.
It’ll now be interesting to see whether Lennon throws him straight back into the starting line-up. The winger hasn’t managed to play 90 minutes in the league since October in a 2-0 win against Motherwell (Transfermarkt).
Livingston, of course, aren’t known for shirking challenges. If Elyounoussi does start tonight, it’ll be on a plastic surface against a side well known for their physical attributes and ability to succeed through aggressive off-ball tactics. That’s not a dig either – they do it extremely well, and Lennon could easily want to keep Elyounoussi away from that for now.
Regardless, it’s just great to see that it seems as though he won’t be out for the long-term.
Would you throw Mohamed Elyounoussi straight back into the team tonight? How would that affect your formation? Let us know in the discussion forum below.
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