Football Insider pundit Alex McLeish has been having his say on the injury sustained to Celtic winger Karamoko Dembele during pre-season.
The Lowdown: Dembele’s injury
Dembele scored for the Hoops in the first half of a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic on July 10.
The 18-year-old was described as ‘hugely talented’ by Ange Postecoglou, who backed Dembele to challenge for a place in his side during the upcoming campaign.
However, in the Hoops’ next pre-season friendly against Bristol City, Dembele and Mikey Johnston were forced off through injury.
Postecoglou labelled the injuries as ‘significant’ earlier this week and expects the wide men to be ‘out for a period of time’.
The Latest: McLeish reacts
McLeish, 62, was talking to Football Insider regarding Dembele, believing the latest injury could be ‘real trouble’.
"Postecoglou’s been raving about him (Dembele).
"We said if he’s good enough, he’s old enough. Sometimes young guys are still developing in terms of their muscles. They can pick up injuries.
"If it’s an injury that is going to blight a career, then that is highly disconcerting and disappointing. It’s real trouble for any individual’s mentality.
"He’s got to get back fit and play through these games to impress the manager again."
The Verdict: Dembele misses chance to shine
With Postecoglou talking so highly of Dembele in pre-season, he may have been in line to feature in some capacity against FC Midtjylland.
Ryan Christie and new signing Liel Abada were chosen out wide, with James Forrest an unused substitute.
By the time Dembele returns to full fitness, new addition Kyogo Furuhashi may well be established in attack, meaning there’s even more competition for places.
He may have missed a key chance to break through into Celtic’s first-team squad through injury, but hopefully, his time will come again.