Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has reported better news on Callum McGregor’s injury but is still awaiting details on the length of his skipper’s lay-off.
And Postecoglou warned that Yosuke Ideguchi faces a spell out following the painful injury the Japanese midfielder also suffered in Saturday’s Scottish Cup win at Alloa.
McGregor went off with a facial injury during Celtic’s 2-1 fourth-round win at the Indodrill Stadium.
Postecoglou told Celtic TV: “He’s better, he wasn’t in great shape straight after the game. He had the injury and a slight concussion as well.
“But I exchanged messages with him and he feels a bit better, which is great. Hopefully his recovery doesn’t take too long.
“Knowing the type of character that Callum is, for him to stay down, and to be fair he didn’t go all the way down, you could see he was trying to stay up because he is as brave as they come. So, for him to come off, we knew it was something significant.”
Ideguchi, making his first Celtic start, was caught on the ankle by the studs of Mouhamed Niang as the Alloa midfielder followed through on a strong challenge.
Postecoglou admitted his January signing was “not great” and claimed referee Don Robertson should have delivered more serious punishment to Niang than a yellow card.
“I think I said after the game it didn’t look too serious but to be fair I didn’t really get a good look at him,” the former Australia head coach added.
“It was a terrible tackle and one that should have been addressed by the referee on the day.
“He hasn’t come out of it too well and he’ll be missing for a little bit as well. He is still pretty painful now.
“Again, I know the kind of character he is. When I saw him trying to jog off I knew it was significant.
“I was optimistic it wasn’t too bad but, as everyone saw in the footage, the tackle should never have happened and it should have been addressed on the day.”
The double injury blow in Celtic’s midfield comes on top of the absence of David Turnbull, who is out with hamstring trouble, and the departure of Tom Rogic on international duty.
The Australia midfielder will miss Wednesday’s visit to Tynecastle to play Hearts plus subsequent games against Dundee United and Rangers.
Postecoglou had stated he was pleased with his transfer business even before signing midfielder Matt O’Riley from MK Dons but he hinted there might still be someone arriving before next Monday’s deadline.
“We stay alert, we stay agile, there still could be some things that happen,” he said.
“We are still looking for loans for a couple of our younger players. I’m sure there will still be some activity between now and the end.
“What sort of activity that is, we will just see how it all develops, but our planning has gone to schedule so far and hopefully that continues to the end of the window.”
