Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that striker Leigh Griffiths will be taking a break from football for the foreseeable future following ongoing personal issues.
The 28-year-old has made 20 appearances for the club so far in the campaign of 2018/19, returning six goals, but having recently returned from illness and further calf injury problems, his appearance off the bench in the victory over Kilmarnock at the weekend will be his last appearance in front of the fans for ‘a number of months’ according to the gaffer.
He missed training on Wednesday morning and has already been ruled out of Thursday’s Europa League clash with Salzburg and as a consequence, Rodgers was quoted by Sky Sports earlier today as saying.
“Leigh will be taken out of football now for a little period of time. Leigh has had ongoing issues now for a number of months and he has done amazing to play to the level and score some of the goals he has. But he has reached the point where it is a struggle for him and we are going to give him all the professional help that he possibly needs to get himself into a good place again. But in order to do that, he needs to find a happiness. So we want to help him with that and we will let you know another time when he is back.”
Rodgers went on to confirm that it was more than a physical issue and that ‘it is no longer a weakness now to talk’.
A short time ago the Daily Record tried to clear up some of the speculation but it didn’t go over that well with fans on social media.
But you can read those comments for yourself, suffice to say the vast majority are backing him with good support.