Celtic will be without Liam Scales for their Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Hibs, as Brendan Rodgers confirmed the defender will miss out due to a cheekbone injury.
Scales picked up the knock during last weekend’s 5-2 win over St Mirren but played on despite the issue. He had come on as a substitute for Auston Trusty, who was forced off with a knock of his own. However, Trusty has since returned to training and was pictured working with the squad on Friday.
There was better news regarding Callum McGregor, with the captain also back in training, giving Celtic a potential boost ahead of the cup tie. However, Paulo Bernardo will remain sidelined until after the international break as he continues his recovery.
Speaking ahead of the match on Friday, Rodgers praised Scales’ toughness but admitted the club must be careful with him.
“Liam Scales will probably miss out. Cheekbone from the St Mirren game where he showed great courage to continue with that. He has had an X-ray on that so we have to be mindful with him.” [TCW]
With a Hampden semi-final place on the line, Rodgers will have some big decisions to make in defence, but the return of Trusty and McGregor could provide a timely lift.
Hibs, with the backing of 7,000 fans, will be full of confidence in the 3pm kick-off on Sunday and will look to pull off back-to-back wins against the Champions and Cup holders.
