At the moment there is some confusion surrounding the availability of Celtic duo Kris Ajer and Mohamed Elyounoussi for next Saturday’s game against Hibernian at Easter Road.
At the moment, both players are currently on international duty with Norway. However, as reported by Football.No, Norwegian health authorities told the Norwegian football association that foreign based Norwegian players aren’t allowed to leave the country to play against Romania and Austria.
The report goes on to disclose that the Norwegian FA disputes this, and has challenged the decision.
Hoops duo may need to self-isolate
More on this story was revealed by Norwegian journalist and Celtic podcaster Christian Wolf, who disclosed on Twitter that the Norwegian authorities won’t let the players out of the country and make them self-isolate, then they will have to stay in Norway for 10 days and Elyounoussi and Ajer will miss the game against Hibernian.
All of this drama has come about after a player tested positive in the team’s hotel on Friday.
It would be a real pain for Celtic if Ajer and Elyounoussi missed the game. Elyounoussi is in great form, and Ajer has only just returned from injury.
If we examine who could replace Ajer, then Shane Duffy could be handed an immediate return to the Hoops side should Ajer have to miss the game.
Duffy missed Celtic’s last game against Motherwell, he was left out of the side after a less than convincing start to his Celtic career.
Player claims not to be affected by critics
However, as reported by 67HH recently, Duffy has said that he won’t be affected by what the critics say. He could get a chance to put that theory into practice when the Hoops take on Hibernian at Easter Road.
The 28-year-old’s critics will be just waiting for him to make a mistake. Wouldn’t be great if Duffy instead dominated the game, and helped the Hoops to a vital three points?
That could be considered a new start to his Celtic career. Wiping the slate clean after what has gone on before.
Neil Lennon has constantly supported the player during what has been a tough start to life in Glasgow. A good performance at Easter Road would be a great time for Duffy to start to repay that faith shown.
In other news, add Chris Sutton to those showering praise on Ryan Christie’s Scotland performance.
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