Celtic have had their fair share of injury problems this season to say the least. High-profile players such as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and now departed Liel Abada all suffered long-term injuries this season. At the moment captain Callum McGregor is injured with Hatate and Carter-Vickers still on the sidelines in what has been an injury-plagued season for the pair.
Cameron Carter-Vickers could return to the side for the weekend's cinch Premiership match against St Johnston, whilst McGregor and Hatate could return following the upcoming international break.
It seems that the injury list is only continuing to grow as Luis Palma looks to be them for a spell on the sidelines after he mysteriously missed out on Celtic's match-day squad for the visit of Livingston to Parkhead in a Scottish Cup quarter-final clash.
Earlier today, The Honduran Football Federation released a statement confirming that Luis Palma will take no part in their upcoming international fixture against Costa Rica. The statement goes into further detail on the extent of the injury the 24-year-old has suffered, with it stating that Palma will undergo a rehabilitation period that could keep him out of action for three to four weeks.
A quick look at the calendar and you would notice that Palma could be in a race against time to make the squad for the trip to Ibrox to face Rangers in three and a half weeks time.
Whilst Palma hasn't been starting most of Celtic's games in the last month, he is still a player that can make an impact when he is in the team, especially in high-profile games as he we have seen from him in the Champions League group stage.
With a muscular injury now keeping him out for the next few weeks, how can Celtic deal with the absence of the Honduran for upcoming fixtures against St Johnstone and Livingston?
Who Starts?
Daizen Maeda is coming into a bit of form after grabbing a hat-trick that saved the Hoops bacon against Livingston last weekend. Brendan Rodgers will be expecting the Japanese international to continue to step up in the next few fixtures, and the same could be said for Nicolas Kuhn.
After an underwhelming first few games wearing the Hoops, the German showed the first glimpses of the £3.5million player Celtic signed in January, and he will be looking to build upon that performance against the Lions in the coming weeks.
Who Can Make an Impact From the Bench?
Yang Hyun-jun was getting a good string of games in the starting line-up and producing solid performances to go with it before he was handed a two-match ban form a controversial straight red card at Tynecastle two weeks ago.
The South Korean will miss this weekend's fixture against St Johnstone with that suspension, but will be back with the squad for the trip to Almondvale the following week.
James Forrest was called upon from the bench last weekend and rewarded Rodgers' faith with an assist. He could see some more opportunities from the bench over the next few weeks, and a man in line for a new contract in Rocco Vata could also make some appearances from the bench with Luis Palma out of the squad.