Celtic winger Liel Abada is set to be sidelined for 3 to 4 months with a thigh problem he picked up in training.
The Israeli international sustained the injury whilst taking part in a shooting drill, and he will undergo a scan to get a better estimate of when he will return to action. There were fears that he could be out until mid-February but manager Brendan Rodgers says there is a good chance that he’ll be available before Christmas.
There is better news on Reo Hatate. The Japanese international has not played since being taken off with a calf injury in the 3-1 win against Aberdeen.
He is now back in full training but, as the player has been out for over a month, it is expected that he will only make the bench for the Dundee fixture this weekend.
Marco Tilio is closing in on his debut. The Australian has not played since arriving from Melbourne City in the summer due to injury. After missing pre-season, it may be a while before the winger is playing regularly for the Hoops.
Yuki Kobayashi is, however, ready to start games, having initially returned to the substitutes bench for the derby against Rangers before the international break. Mikey Johnson is ready for selection too.
Updates on 3 other Celtic players
Despite Kobayashi’s return to fitness, the Scottish champions still have three other centre-backs out of contention.
Cameron Carter-Vickers is the nearest to making his comeback. The Englishman has been sidelined with a hamstring issue but he could be available again at the start of October.
Stephen Welsh (knee) and Maik Nawrocki (hamstring) are long-term absentees. However, the former has been included in Celtic’s Champions League squad, while the latter has not, which gives us a good indication that Welsh is closer to playing than his teammate.
