With hamstring injuries very much being en vogue for anyone wearing adidas’ green and white hooped collection this season, if there were any post-match concerns to come out of Celtic players involvement in the Nation League games last night it would have been short odds on the cause being a hamstring pull.

The unlucky victim this time around is of course Carl Starfelt, who departed the action just prior to half-time of Sweden’s 2-0 win over Bosnia last night. It certainly didn’t look good that the player had to leave the field on a stretcher, but we can all but hope that was a precautionary measure rather than any indication of the severity of the injury.

Starfelt would understandably be frustrated as with only six caps for his national team he’d have been hoping to transfer his consistent club form this season onto the international stage and make an impression.

Sadly it wasn’t to be the case and speaking to Expressen seems to be hoping for the best but aware his chances of playing any further games for the national side this summer are likely to be slim.

“It is of course not fun, especially not when you get the chance to play and then it is clear that you want to take it. But sometimes it’s like that in football, I have to see now what kind of injury it is then I have to take it for that reason.

“We’ll see, it does not look very bright. If you are lucky, the X-ray may not show anything and I can recover in a few days, but right now I do not see it as very likely.”

Whilst the injury is a blow for Starfelt’s international hopes, the fact it has occurred at the beginning of June should hopefully mean – depending on the severity of the injury – that Starfelt could be fit for pre-season training for Celtic in a months’ time.

And fingers crossed that is the case because the centre of defence is an area Celtic are somewhat short on numbers.

Cameron-Carter Vickers has yet to put pen to paper on a permanent deal, Christopher Jullien has appeared to have burned his bridges with his frustrations at a lack of gametime made public in the press, and Nir Bitton – someone who made a habit of starting every season playing in central defence for Celtic – has now left the club. Meanwhile last season’s early breakthrough kid Dane Murray is also out injured with a long-term injury, leaving Stephen Welsh and Starfelt as the only two defenders in Ange Postecoglou’s circle of trust.

Had this injury been picked up during the course of the league campaign it could have had disastrous consequences for Celtic, that it’s during the summer recess gives us all hope that Starfelt could make a full recovery in time for pre-season training, or at least close to it.

READ THIS…Don’t miss Sandman’s Graphically Explicit Review of Season 2021/22

The timing also gives Celtic scope to use the transfer window to bolster options in that position, something that sounds likely with Celtic already linked with the likes of Manchester City’s Taylor-Harwood Bellis and Japanese international Ko Itakura.

In the meantime, Christopher Jullien may well see an opportunity at a redemption story here. After all, one player’s injury concerns are always another’s opportunity – and Jullien will know just that more than most.

It appeared Jullien had very much started burning bridges at Celtic at the tail end of last season, now might be an opportune moment to start dousing those flames.

Niall J