ODSONNE EDOUARD, who set up both of Celtic’s first two goals against Motherwell on Wednesday night before going off injured towards the end of the first half, should, according to a ‘source’ quoted in one of the tabloids today, be fit for the games at Pittodrie on 26 December and at Ibrox 3 days after that.
Here’s what their source had to say:
“It didn’t look too clever on Wednesday night but the news has been more encouraging today. It certainly looks as if the game against Dundee will be a bit too soon for Odsonne but the indications we’re getting suggest has a good chance of being ready for the matches against Aberdeen and Rangers.”
That of course means that Celtic’s ONLY striker will sit out tomorrow’s game at Celtic Park against Dundee. Mikey Johnston who scored his first ever goal for the club is likely to play in the ‘Paddy Roberts’ false strike role, which the former Celtic Star performed successfully, notably at Tynecastle when Celtic won 5-0 to win the league in the Invincible season.
Meanwhile Celtic remain in discussions with the Australian FA about the availability or otherwise of Tom Rogic for the Glasgow Derby. Socceroos boss Graham Arnold is sticking to his position that Rogic will be with the Socceroos on 29 December at their training camp in Dubai rather than at Ibrox.
He said: “The Wizard of Oz WILL be there. I spoke to Tom on Tuesday and he’s great, just fantastic.
“The Fifa rules are that the players can come in on 24 December. We are giving them an extra game on Boxing Day.
“But it’s one rule for everyone. I spent eight weeks in Europe recently, going around all the clubs.
“We had great communication with the clubs and it’s good for the players to play on Boxing Day.
“We have 12 or 13 guys who will hopefully get 90 minutes and then come to the camp. We are very happy with that.”
Rogic missed the game against Motherwell and is a doubt for tomorrow’s match against Dundee. That allowed Olivier Ntcham to play in the number 10 role and he seemed much more at ease in a more central position.
The versatile Callum McGregor, who will be on an incredible high after signing his new contract yesterday, dropped back to a deep role alongside Scott Brown – who made his 500th appearance for the club – and that midfield line-up looked impressive enough.
Rogic’s knee problem could end up with him not playing for either Celtic tor Australia in the coming weeks.
