Sead Hakšabanović has added to Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou’s injury concerns ahead of Celtic’s return to domestic action against Ross County next week, after the Montenegrin attacker was substituted at half time as Montenegro defeated Bulgaria 1-0 in Euro qualifying last night,
Hakšabanović signed off from domestic action with Celtic’s third goal in a 3-1 over Hibs prior to joining up with his international teammates.
His form would have been a welcome sight for Postecoglou, particularly given there are further injury concerns surrounding Daizen Maeda – who has admitted to managing a knee injury and sat out Japan’s Kirin Cup clash with Uruguay yesterday – and Liel Abada, who we advised previously is on his way back to Scotland after failing to recover from a quad injury picked up on international duty with Israel.
As such Miodrag Radulovic’s decision to remove Hakšabanović at half-time last night will be a concern to the Celtic manager and supporter’s alike as the Hoops look to retain their Scottish Premiership title and have thoughts of a domestic treble rarely far away from our thoughts.
Radulovic did not go into detail regarding the injury other than to generically advise there were “some fatigue and injuries from the match”, so we can but hope Sead’s concerns fall into the former rather than the latter category and he can return to action after a period of rest and recuperation.
Celtic return to league business a week today with a visit to Dingwall to face Ross County, never an easy place to go, before the Glasgow Derby fixture at Celtic Park on 8 April, where a win for Celtic could all but seal the retention of the Scottish Premiership title won in Ange Postecoglou’s first season as Celtic boss.
As such, the injury concerns mounting up from players on international duty, particularly those in attacking areas, is becoming a cause for concern. However, Ange Postecoglou has been determined to build a robust squad at Celtic and will be confident he has enough talent at his disposal to navigate these challenging injury worries.
Niall J
