Celtic captain Callum McGregor was withdrawn early in last night’s 5-2 win over St Mirren, with manager Brendan Rodgers confirming that the midfielder felt tightness in his calf.
McGregor, who rarely comes off in domestic matches, made way for Luke McCowan, with Arne Engels shifting into the deeper midfield role. Rodgers was quick to ease any injury concerns, explaining that it was a precautionary move rather than a serious issue.
Rodgers said: “He just felt a little bit of tiredness in his calf. I didn’t want to take any risk with him. And Luke coming in was fantastic. Arne Engels just dropped back in.” [TCW]
With a crucial run of fixtures ahead, including the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Hibernian on Saturday and the derby against Rangers the following weekend, Celtic will hope their captain recovers quickly.
Hibs were on the winning side of the scoreline last week against Celtic, and with 7,000 fans expected to fill the away end, they’ll be looking to make it two wins against Celtic in the space of a month.
It will be no easy cup tie for the Hoops, but they do have a week to prepare for it.
Celtic have had a busy schedule in recent times, playing midweek more often than not, so a few days off before returning to training will be well received by the players.
Daizen Maeda has already said that he’s looking forward to recharging his batteries.
