Kieran Tierney’s return to action in a Celtic jersey will have to wait at least another week, with Brendan Rodgers confirming the left-back won’t feature in Tuesday’s friendly against Cork City.

The Scotland international, who recently rejoined the club from Arsenal, is back in training but is being eased into pre-season after an extended summer break following international duty.

Tierney has travelled with the squad to Ireland and will be in attendance, but his second Celtic debut won’t come until the Hoops head to Portugal.

Speaking ahead of the match, Rodgers said: “Kieran won’t be involved. He’ll be at the game, he’s over, but the international players only started training on Friday. We would normally give them a week to train before them playing a game, but those guys will be there.” [RecordSport]

Tierney, who signed for the club earlier this summer in a headline-grabbing return, is expected to step up his preparation this week. All going well, his first outing in green and white that fans can watch since 2019 could come against Sporting Lisbon next weekend in what promises to be a much more competitive fixture.

The match in Cork will see Adam Idah return to his hometown, offering a special moment for the striker who made his loan move permanent last summer. However, like Tierney, the rest of the returning international contingent will sit this one out as Rodgers continues to manage workloads carefully ahead of the season opener on August 3rd against St Mirren.