Tom Rogic has broken his hand at the Asia Cup

By David Walton

January 8, 2019

Celtic’s worst fears could be realised as Tom Rogic has broken his hand whilst on international duty.

The Asia Cup has caused widespread anger already in Scotland as Celtic’s Rogic had to miss the Rangers match on December 29th because of it.

Now, however, it could have had an even worse effect on the Hoops as the Aussie picks up a bad knock.

The good news is that the injury is unlikely to stop him playing in Australia’s second match of the tournament. The Socceroos line-up against Palestine on Friday in a must-win game. That, however, has yet to be confirmed by the Australian camp, who need to assess the injury.

Tom Rogic was assessed after the dire loss to Jordan (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

It’s been a pretty grim couple of weeks for Rogic. Firstly, he had to watch his club lose their first Glasgow derby in the league since 2012. After that, his country suffered a shock opening-match loss to Jordan. He then came under intense criticism from some Socceroos supporters.

To say things haven’t gone according to plan so far would be a massive understatement.

A grim couple of weeks for Rogic

Rogic was a pre-tournament fitness doubt with a knee injury that flared up on his flight over to the tournament. He was rested in the friendly against Oman, but featured in the opening-day defeat.

Any period out of the game would be a concern for Celtic. The Hoops have him as their natural first-choice number 10, and he brings so much to the team when he plays.

Many believe that missing Rogic was the key to falling to Rangers at Ibrox.

Celtic will be hoping their star-man is good to go as soon as possible (Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)

So far this season, however, the Aussie’s stats don’t particularly read too well. He has just four goals and five assists in 27 appearances this term. He isn’t having his best year in Glasgow, but is still invaluable to the team’s cause regardless.

We’ll see how this injury progresses over the next week or two. When Rogic eventually returns to Parkhead, however, Celtic will want him sharp and ready to go. Knocks like this certainly won’t help.