Amidst the mayhem of successive injury stories hitting the media feeds of Celtic supporters worldwide, there has been a bit of give and a let up as it were last night, as winger Sead Hakšabanović started for his country against Serbia. The wideman had been another who’s national team boss had cast doubt on recently, with many worried he could be out alongside Liel Abada, Anthony Ralston and Daizen Maeda in being called back to his club early.
Instead, the 23-year-old attacker had been declared fit and ready to fire on all cylinders, as he started the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group G match on Monday night for Montenegro. It is a welcome relief after his national team coach, Miodrag Radulovic, stated after the previous group match that some of his players had been suffering from knocks and fatigue. He said: “When everything was put together, we played well, but we have some fatigue and injuries from the match. We have to rest and prepare for Monday’s match with Serbia. The most important thing is that we won.”
One of those players had been the Celtic player and it looked as if it could be another who might be on the casualty list when the domestic action recommences against Ross County up at Dingwall this coming Sunday. It would have been a bitter blow for the manager, fans, and player if he would have been sidelined as he’s coming onto a game right now the Montenegrin. His cameos from the bench are fast-becoming a fixture for Ange Postecoglou and his Celtic side, and his goal before the break against Hibernian was phenomenal.
That isn’t the first time this season he has did that however, as he had proved a dab-hand at unlocking those tightly sprung defences we face regularly in the Scottish Premiership home or away. If memory serves, he scored another fantastic solo effort against the very team we play in the Highlands this coming weekend a while ago, which gifted us breathing space once again. He’s certainly got a knack for it and hopefully he can repeat the feat now that he is fit for the restart.
At last, a bit of good news during this international break!
Paul Gillespie
