EMILIO IZAGUIRRE has told Celtic fans he was playing in pain when he put in a below-par performance against Valencia at home.

The Honduran was singled out by many Celtic fans for his terrible performance on the night which helped contribute to a 2-0 defeat where the whole team looked toothless.

Izzy hasn’t been seen since as he recovers from injury and although he doesn’t say his former manager Brendan Rodgers hung him out to dry, he makes it very clear he shouldn’t have played in the Europa League tie.

“I took a knock on the ankle and I returned to play against Valencia with a Grade Two strain. I stopped for three days and the other three I spent running. I played against Valencia injured and in a lot of pain”. he told Football Scotland.

“In January only I played more than seven times between Europe, the league and the Cup, accumulating 15 games in a row. It was then during the Hibs game I got a fright because I think that I suffered a fracture, but it was only a sprain. Against Valencia I played the full 90 minutes but my ankle was very swollen,”

Izzy was in deputising for an injured Kieran Tierney and missed the second leg of the Valencia tie with Jonny Hayes coming in and impressing.

There has to be some heat on the player for choosing to play even though he was in pain but as you see with a lot of professionals, managers and coaching staff have to be there to take the gun out of some players hands sometimes. A dedicated and hardworking player will always want to play if they feel they can, but under the circumstances of playing an unfit Izzy at left back against a La Liga side, it should never have happened.

This wouldn’t have came to light had the manager not left this week and it’s crazy to think how much Brendan Rodgers did have a hold over the support in many ways and his players.