Celtic boss Neil Lennon has recently revealed some potentially good injury news for the Hoops. The Celtic manager disclosed that both Mikey Johnston and Mohamed Elyounoussi could return from injury soon.
“Mikey Johnston is back in training, we are hoping Mohamed Elyounoussi will be training by the end of the week” Lennon said, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
Should both players suffer no reaction to their injuries in training, then the duo could be back in the Celtic squad sooner rather than later.
Potentially a welcome selection dilemma
That could give the Hoops boss a most welcome dilemma. Especially when it comes to Celtic’s Betfred Cup Final against Rangers, which is less than two weeks away.
The Hoops boss will need to think carefully about who to select should both players be fit for Hampden Park. It might come down to who is match fit first. If that should be the case, Johnston might get the nod to start the cup final.
The only issue with that is that he hasn’t played since September. Meanwhile, Elyounoussi has established himself in the Celtic team over the past few months.
However, his recovery from injury might not be as quick as Johnston’s, as he has yet to return to training. For any of the players to have a chance of playing in the cup final though, they will need to play some first team football before that.
Duo must feature in games before cup final
The Hoops have three games before the final. The Europa League match against Rennes, a trip to Ross County on Sunday and a midweek match at home to Hamilton.
It is vital that if the players are to be considered for selection for the cup final, they feature in at least one of those three fixtures.
Having either Johnston or Elyounoussi in the Celtic side could give them the advantage heading into the cup final. It will be interesting to see if either player makes the starting line-up for the Hampden Park encounter.
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