Celtic manager Neil Lennon is hoping to have striker Leigh Griffiths back to full fitness after the international break. The 29-year-old has not played since August because of a thigh injury and a subsequent illness.

The forward will be put through his paces when the development squad play this week, the Hoops boss says, and he is expecting the forward to make progress on his fitness through the international break:

“We’re hoping to give him two good weeks of work, then he has a developmental game next week – see how he comes through that. We want him up to speed, he’s not up to speed, not at the level that we want him at, he’s got to do the work in the next two weeks.”

Lennon is struggling for options up front, with Vakoun Issouf Bayo still sidelined with a knee injury, which could keep him out until mid-December.

The onus is very much on Odsonne Edouard to deliver, and while the Frenchman is certainly delivering the goods, after scoring in the 2-0 win over Motherwell yesterday, Lennon is keen to ease the burden on the main striker.

The Celtic manager has stated that the club will be targeting another forward in January, and it means Griffiths could find himself well down the pecking order in the not too distant future if he can’t regain his match sharpness.