Celtic’s incredibly unfortunate injury problems of the last few seasons appear to have continued into this pre-season campaign as three players from the starting line up were forced out of the match through various ailments.
Vasilis Barkas was the first casualty. He had been set to start between the sticks but injured his fingers in the warm up and had to withdraw. Scott Bain took his place.
Mikey Johnston was next to leave the field early in the first half, hobbling off clutching his hamstring. He seems to suffer endless injury problems and his pre-season renaissance lasted all but a couple of matches as he had to be replaced by Adam Montgomery.
To complete the unlucky trilogy, Karamoko Dembele left the pitch before the half time whistle after receiving a shocking challenge. The young winger immediately hit the deck and clutched his ankle, before looking distraught at pitchside. He was subbed for Ewan Henderson.
There are currently 10 minutes remaining in the match. Let’s hope that Ange Postecoglou has no more injury concerns to deal with before full time.