Celtic v Hearts injury latest as major absentee list shapes the title decider

Saturday at Paradise. The title on the line. And both sides heading into it battered and bruised. Here’s the full injury picture ahead of the biggest game of the season…

It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Celtic host Hearts at Celtic Park on Saturday in a straight shootout for the Scottish Premiership title, with the Jambos arriving one point clear and knowing a draw or better hands them their first championship since 1960. We know what’s at stake. So does every single person inside that ground. The dramatic run-in that brought us to this point has been extraordinary – and now it all comes down to 90 minutes under the lights at Paradise.

Neither manager gets to walk into this one with a full squad, mind you. As reported by the Edinburgh News, across both squads there are 12 confirmed absentees and four players listed as doubtful heading into the weekend. It’s a patched-up title decider in the truest sense.

Celtic Injury News

Martin O’Neill has enough on his plate without the injury list that’s been building at Lennoxtown. O’Neill has already addressed the situation around both Tomas Cvancara and Kasper Schmeichel, and the news isn’t great on either front heading into the weekend. Schmeichel’s long-term absence remains the elephant in the room, but it’s Cvancara’s groin issue that’s the more immediate blow – his season now looks to be effectively over before the biggest match of it.

Then there’s Julian Araujo, who won’t be pulling on the Hoops again this term. The Celtic loanee has returned to Bournemouth for specialist treatment on his thigh injury, with the loan spell finished. It’s a frustrating end for a player who showed real promise, and it leaves our defensive options thinner than we’d like for a match of this magnitude.

With senior bodies missing across the park, the door opens wider for fringe players to stake their claim. Martin O’Neill will need every available option and then some – and whoever steps in will be doing so in front of a Paradise crowd that will be absolutely bouncing from kick-off.

Hearts Injury News

Hearts haven’t escaped the treatment table either, and that’s worth keeping in mind when you see that one-point lead on the table. Craig Halkett is the most serious casualty – the defender has ruptured his Achilles and faces seven to nine months on the sidelines. He won’t be anywhere near Gorgie Road until well into next season, let alone Celtic Park on Saturday.

The other major doubt for Derek McInnes is veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who is training but only has an outside chance of making the squad. Gordon’s experience in big games is exactly what Hearts would want in a match like this – if he doesn’t make it, that’s a significant psychological blow for them, whatever way you cut it. McInnes has been leaning on younger squad members in recent weeks as a result of his depleted ranks, and Celtic will be hoping to exploit that lack of depth early.

Hearts dropped points twice in their last five league games, including an Edinburgh derby draw with Hibs, while we closed the gap with some serious form – including that 7–1 demolition of Dundee. The momentum is with us. The crowd will be with us. And now the injury absentees suggest Hearts are coming to Paradise with their squad stretched to the limit.

Ninety minutes. Everything to play for. Mon The Hoops.