Celtic defender Kieran Tierney is facing a battle to be fit for Sunday’s match against Rangers at Celtic Park.
The left-back was out of action for over two months with a hip problem earlier in the season but returned to the starting eleven in February, playing five matches prior to the recent international break.
Sadly though he picked up a calf injury in Scotland training preparing to play against Kazakhstan and manager Neil Lennon has confirmed it’s an issue that is still troubling him.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Celtic boss explained:
Tierney had a bit of a reaction in training. I’m not ruling him out, but it didn’t look great this morning. He looked a bit uncomfortable, so we’ll have to wait and see how he is.
He probably needs a rest. We’ll try and get him over the line as quickly as possible, then shut him down for a while. We’ll be guided by the medical team.
The news that Lennon is considering ‘shutting him down’ for the rest of the season is also concerning considering we have a huge Scottish Cup clash or two on the horizon.
More immediately though, we could be looking at a potential Jonny Hayes selection at left-back if Tierney does not recover in time and that may concern some fans unconvinced by the Irishman.
Ultimately though absolutely no risks should be taken with the defender’s health given we have arguably overplayed him in recent seasons.
Even though tomorrow is a huge match, I’d much rather Tierney can play a bigger part in the tail-end of the season.
Who would you play in Tierney’s position if he does not make the Rangers match? Have your say below…