The latest on Maik Nawrocki’s Celtic status as Brendan Rodgers issues full squad update on 3 more

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Speaking in a media conference on Friday, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers sounded hopeful that several key players will be returning to contention following the upcoming international break.

Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Luis Palma and Maik Nawrocki are all currently sidelined with injury problems. They’ve been joined by defender Liam Scales too.

While there’s good news that Cameron Carter-Vickers is ready to play, clearly Celtic remain far from full strength in terms of competitive options.

Brendan Rodgers on Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor

Hatate was spotted in training earlier on Friday but the Celtic boss has tempered expectations on an imminent return, signalling that the Japanese has more work to do to build his fitness.

Rodgers said: “We will look at it after the international break. Thankfully, he is back in training with the squad now and he still has a bit of work to do over the next few weeks in terms of his actual football fitness. It is great to have him back in the squad and he has trained the last few days.”

On McGregor, the Bhoys boss added: “I expect him to be back at the end of the international break. He’s feeling good and he needs to get some work into him over the next week to 10 days. We will assess it for the Livingston game when we get back.”

Maik Nawrocki and Luis Palma status

Asked about central defender Nawrocki, Rodgers said: “He is still unavailable. Hopefully again after the international break and won’t be too far away.”

And on Palma, the Celtic manager confirmed: “He hasn’t been involved in the last few squads as he picked up a calf problem. I don’t think he will be available until after the international break.”

So, expect a clutch of first-teamers to be back in contention starting with the match away to Livingston at the end of the month.

Eyes cannot help but turn to the upcoming derby against Rangers at Ibrox, too. The presence of McGregor in particular will be key for that one as club captain, while Hatate’s inclusion – even off the bench – would be a significant boost.