Liel Abada is progressing towards a return to the team, although he will not be part of the squad for the upcoming Scottish Premiership match against Livingston on Saturday.
Abada has been absent from the Celtic lineup since their victory at Ibrox in September. His injury occurred during a training session while on international duty, sidelining him with a thigh muscle issue.
This setback came at a particularly unfortunate time for manager Brendan Rodgers, as Abada, at 22 years old, was emerging as a key player on the right wing.
Rodgers, while hopeful, remains cautious about predicting the exact timing of Abada’s return. Returning to face the media, after his week off last week, Rodgers provided an update on Abada’s condition, stating, “He’s out on the grass running with the medical team,” he said via Celtic TV.
“It’s not imminent but he’s certainly in a really, really good place and hopefully at some time in the near future he’ll be able to be back in with the squad.
“I haven’t thought on it [returning before the winter break], it’s a day-by-day thing. We just have to assess it as he goes along each day.”
There’s just a week until the derby, but Celtic have a game before then, away to Dundee on boxing day. Could he potentially be in line to join the squad for the match, and possibly put himself in a position to feature on the 30th?
