The mood around Celtic isn’t the greatest at the moment as they have not won in four. This has included conceding a last-minute equaliser against Aberdeen and allowing Lille to equalise by scoring two goals in the final 30 minutes.
The news goes from bad to worse too, as manager Neil Lennon was speaking after the Europa League draw to the French side. He said: “He (Kristoffer Ajer) felt his groin go so it’s not great by the looks of things. We’ll need to see how long he’s out for but he looks a doubt for Sunday.”
Former Aberdeen forward Noel Whelan has been discussing this possible injury, and he has emphasised the importance of Ajer in the Celtic side.
What Whelan had to say about Ajer and his injury
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: “He’s a big miss. When you miss players like that, you’ve got to look to your bench and what you have.
“He’s a leader at the back, he’s someone that’s been consistent and consistently playing during the start of this campaign.
“A big personality like that will always be missed in the side. On one hand, it’s devastating for Celtic to be missing a player of that quality.
On the other hand, you look at Aberdeen and they’ll be rubbing their hands together thinking: ‘Okay, this is probably their strongest defender and he might be out of the game.’
It’s how are they going to compensate that big void that he brings in height, professionalism, consistency in his performances and leadership in the back.”
How could this impact Celtic?
The 22-year-old has started the season well at centre-back, especially in the Premiership, where he has managed an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 2.8 clearances per game (WhoScored).
This will definitely worry the manager, especially due to the fact that they also have Christopher Jullien injured as well.
The impact Ajer has is there for all to see and not only has it been noticed by big sides as Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan have all been monitoring him, but also by pundits.
Former Celtic ace Harald Brattbakk was speaking about the defender earlier in the year, telling The Scottish Sun: ‘Ajer’s been brilliant.’
The Hoops have a huge game this weekend as they seek to continue their domestic dominance, and another setback could have dire consequences for Lennon.
In other Celtic news, one legend of the club has been praising a Hoops star. Have a read who it is here!
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