top of page

THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT CELTS DUE TO RETURN AFTER THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK

Celtic are heading into the international break on a high after a comfortable and composed performance against St Johnstone on Saturday.


Coupled with that is the fact that the champions are going into the break at the summit of the Premiership, albeit with rivals Rangers holding a game in hand after their trip to Dens Park was postponed.


The Hoops have been making their way through this season with a number of injuries to high-profile players, with Maik Nawrocki, Liam Scales, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Luis Palma all currently on the sidelines with injuries.


Brendan Rodgers will be provided with a welcome confidence boost following the international break, however, with many of the big guns getting set to return to aid Celtic's title push.





Callum McGregor

The captain is a consistent figure in this Celtic side, and often teams can fail to adapt when an ever-present like McGregor is suddenly unavailable.


McGregor is so often the key in this Celtic team, linking defence with attack to ensure that the side can seamlessly move play forward, and the captain will be returning after the international break to bolster Celtic's midfield options.





Reo Hatate

Reo Hatate is one of the most exciting players at the club. Under Ange Postecoglou, he was the player that made the driving runs forward through the middle when no one else seemed willing.


Another key aspect of Reo's game is his passing. He is a risk-taker with a knack for producing the unthinkable, and that is something that has been dearly missed this season where the attacking play has been far too predictable.


Plagued with injuries this season, The Japanese playmaker was back training with the first team prior to featuring in a bounce game this week and Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Hatate will be back in the squad following the international break.


He played a starring role in Celtic's previous trip to Almondvale this season, and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping Hatate can produce some more magic when he finally returns to the team once again.





Fully-Fit Cameron Carter-Vickers

Since the return from the winter break, Celtic have been shipping far too many goals. In the Premiership, the champions have kept just the one clean-sheet this year, and a massive part of that has been due to the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers.


The American has been in and out of the Celtic team for the majority of this campaign, having struggled to fully recover from the knee surgery he underwent towards the end of last season. After returning from injury against St Johnstone last week, the centre-back won't have any risk of aggravating that injury on international duty, as he was left out of the United States national squad for the upcoming round of fixtures.


This should give Carter-Vickers some precious time to fully recover and get back to peak condition for the high-pressure games to come in the run-in.


James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie

bottom of page