Robust Ryan’s Remarkable Return

REMARKABLY Ryan Christie is fit and ready to play against Dundee this afternoon.

Odsonne Edouard is unavailable but should be back for the game at Pittodrie on Boxing Day and that is exactly the same position three other Celtic stars – Kieran Tierney, Mikael Lustig and Dedryck Boyata – find themselves in.

“Ryan’s available and back in the squad,” Brendan Rodgers revealed at the media conference yesterday afternoon at Lennotown.

“I think it was more protective from the medical team, when he couldn’t really move and put his foot on the floor. Obviously, when players get carried off, people maybe think it’s going to be a lot longer-term – but it was more for protection than anything else.

“He is working very, very hard. He’s been brilliant and he’s very keen to get back in as quick as he can.

“We have to ensure that he’s not pushing it too much, but he’s trained now for the last few days and looks really good.”

Mikey Johnston could lead the line today, in a false No9 role that Paddy Roberts played on a number of occasions when Celtic were short of fit strikers previously. The No73 scored a sensational goal the other night after replacing Edouard and that was actually his first for the club. Given Christie’s return to action, it’s likely that the pair will share the forward duties this afternoon so it’s likely to be a matter of which one starts on the bench.

Tom Rogic, who missed the last few games due to his knee problem, is likely to be on the bench. He is available for the game at Pittodrie but is still unsure whether he will get international clearance to play at Ibrox – where he enjoys scoring.

If the manager decides to play the big Aussie today that would mean Olivier Ntcham dropping to the bench.

YOUR CELTIC YEAR…we’d like to publish some features from Celtic supporters over the remaining days of December when you talk about your favourite Celtic memories of 2018.

There’s plenty to talk about Beautiful Sundays galore, winning the Double Treble, the Bus returning to Celtic Park, winning the Magnificent 7 against Aberdeen and the European trips, even if the results have sometimes been disappointing.

If you fancy writing about your year supporting Celtic we’d love to hear from you – email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk and there’s a prize for every submission we publish!