Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has told Sky Sports that it is ‘unlikely’ he’ll have any of his injured players back against St Johnstone.
The Lowdown: St Mirren struggle
The Hoops failed to back up their Hampden Park triumph in the Scottish Premiership after being held to a surprise 0-0 draw with St Mirren.
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Postecoglou was without Joe Hart, David Turnbull and hero Kyogo Furuhashi from the League Cup final, while Carl Starfelt was suspended.
Celtic failed to make a breakthrough despite having 31 shots and 83% possession, with St Mirren missing 11 players due to Covid-19. That result leaves the Hoops six points behind rivals Rangers, with one final game before the winter break.
The Latest: Sky Sports post
Sky Sports shared an interview with Postecoglou on Twitter ahead of the trip to St Johnstone, which is available to view here.
The Hoops manager was asked if there were any further updates on those who missed St Mirren and if they would be available for Boxing Day, to which he said:
“Unlikely with the short turnaround. We might get one or two but at this stage I think it’ll be a similar sort of team that went out last night.”
The Verdict: Worrying…
Celtic struggled without top scorer Furuhashi and the creative Turnbull, and it appears as if they could be without them once more in what is a crucial game prior to the winter break.
They won’t want Rangers’ lead to stretch any further ahead of their meeting on February 2, meaning they’ll need to find a way to score despite being without a number of attacking players.
Liel Abada was used in a central position against St Mirren but didn’t have a single shot on goal, so perhaps Postecoglou will tinker with his setup.
He could use attacking midfielder Tom Rogic in a false nine role, as he did recently against Motherwell with Turnbull, which would then allow Abada to return to a natural wide role. Postecoglou doesn’t have many options, though, with Celtic desperate to get back to winning ways on Sunday.
In other news: 'Get that done in January' - Celtic pundit buzzes at transfer insider's Parkhead update.