Callum McGregor is certainly used to being central to the Rangers v Celtic conversation.
The Scotland international midfielder, 30, has played in his fair share of Old Firm derbies with the Parkhead stalwart central to Brendan Rodgers’ side.
But heading into the Old Firm clash, Callum McGregor hasn’t been seen in a Celtic shirt since a 7-1 win over old chums Dundee at the end of February.
As a result this week has been dominated by a big “will he, won’t he” dilemma when it comes to the midfielder starting at Ibrox.
Philippe Clement refuses Callum McGregor bait
The conversation even made its way into Philippe Clement’s pre-match press conference heading into the third Rangers v Celtic clash of the season.
With one journalist suggesting Callum McGregor has “dominated” the Old Firm this season, Clement was in typically direct mood.
Claiming that such a suggestion is a load of twaddle, the Rangers boss has spoken directly about the Celtic captain.
It’s clear the hype around the midfielder is certainly bigger outside of Ibrox than it is inside.
“I don’t totally agree that he dominated the play in Celtic Park,” said Clement. “There were moments that he was good on the ball but there were also moments that he was not dominating the game.
“I think a few of my midfielders were in moments also dominating the game. I see the first game, then it’s true he was dominating but I OK I don’t need to say too much about that.
“Yeah, he’s a very good player. He’s somebody with a lot of quality who is really good on the ball and who is very important for their team.
“So of course it’s important to take that strength out of their team and that’s one part you need to do but it’s not only about one player. They have a lot of good players.”
With Celtic risk captain against Rangers?
No matter what happens when the team sheets come out at 11am – whether McGregor is named as a starter at Ibrox or not – it’s clear the situation is a risky one for the Parkhead side.
Start the player at Ibrox and it’ll be McGregor’s first kick of a ball in over a month.
Put him on the bench and Celtic’s midfield could lack the bite, composure and leadership their captain offers.
Ahead of the Rangers game, things seem to be leaning towards Callum McGregor starting but what did Brendan Rodgers actually say?
“We’ll do one final run with Callum tomorrow in our last session but he’s done remarkable to be back,” said Rodgers. “He’s way ahead of schedule from what we thought.
“It just shows you his professionalism and how hard he’s worked so he’ll be involved in the squad, and if he is, then it’s great news for us in every capacity because we’ll have a clean bill of health, really, for probably the first time this season. But we’ll make a final call on that tomorrow.
“He’s the type of player who can probably get by at 80 per cent. He has that level, that quality. But you also have to think about the fact there are remaining games throughout the season.
“It’s just about being logical and finding out where he’s at with all his tests and measurements. He’s been training, and clearly his quality is there, but we just have to gauge whether he starts, whether he comes into the game or what involvement he has.”
It certainly doesn’t sound like Callum McGregor is nailed on to start against Rangers.
And even if the Celtic captain does, given his injury background as of late there will be nerves at Parkhead.
Whether that’s around the midfielder being off the pace, or him risking the exacerbation of an injury in the run-in, let’s see if Celtic roll the dice.
Rangers have their own post-injury selection dilemmas at Ibrox too.
