Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be keen to fully utilise the international break ahead of his side’s return to action against Livingston next weekend.
Last Saturday, the Hoops saw off St Johnstone in comfortable fashion, with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and James Forrest rubberstamping a productive day at the office for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions.
Now, the focus will be on trying to get some of our star men fully recuperated from their respective injury problems, which could provide a huge boost as we aim to win a third successive title.
Club captain Callum McGregor and Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate are both set to return once the Scottish top-flight resumes.
They could be joined by defender Liam Scales, who is also set to come back from a knock that led him to miss our victory against St Johnstone and also drop out of the Republic of Ireland’s upcoming double-header against Belgium and Switzerland.
Cameron Carter-Vickers managed to come through the triumph unscathed; however, Rodgers confirmed that he is set to stay at Lennoxtown to continue his fitness progress rather than linking up with the United States national team.
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Without a doubt, some of the above players mentioned being available for the run-in would be a massive shot in the arm for Celtic amid our recent need to shuffle the squad around to accommodate for absences.
Former Scotland international Lee McCulloch has agreed, despite being someone more famed at our rivals, claiming that the comeback of Hatate, McGregor and Carter-Vickers being ready for a prolonged run could be key as they are all ‘massive players’ under Rodgers.
He stated [PA Media cited via BBC Sport]: “I don’t see an obvious favourite (for the title). I can see it going as far as the last day. Celtic are getting players back, the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate are massive players for Celtic, and you can’t disregard that.
“Celtic have maybe had their ups and downs in the last months, and they’ve maybe not played to their capabilities this season, but they’re a very good team.
“You can’t just disregard them and say, ‘Right, that’s it. Rangers are going to win the league.’ There’s a lot of football to be played until the end of the season, so it will be interesting to see which players and which team hold their nerve.”
Celtic will be battle-hardened in their pursuit of the league title and have the advantage of having been over the course several times before, which can hopefully come in handy in the coming weeks.
Taking things game-by-game has to be the mantra for Rodgers, starting with our trip to Livingston next weekend, where nothing less than three points will do.
