Old Firm rivals Celtic have potentially been handed a big injury blow ahead of the Scottish Cup clash with Rangers after a key player limped out of their 6-0 win over Livingston.
The emphatic victory has confidence brewing in the eastend as they prepare to visit the Champions next weekend in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Winger James Forrest opened the scoring in that rout and the Celtic stalwart has missed much of the season with an ankle injury.
Infamously, Forrest’s continuing absence led former Celtic manager Neil Lennon to claim the season would’ve been different had the Scotland international been available [Glasgow Times].
John Kennedy would reveal that Forrest picked up a hamstring knock before being substituted and claimed it was “too early” to say if he’d miss the Rangers clash.
“It is too early. We will just have to assess him. It was a general stiffness around the hamstrings, stuff you usually concern yourself about, but hopefully we got him off quick enough,” said Kennedy [Glasgow Times].
“It is a different area (from the ankle) and with players coming back after so long you do get niggles and stiffness which are hopefully just a day or two in passing. I don’t want to say too much.
“We are not quite sure yet. He kind of stiffened up around his back and hamstrings and stuff around the start of the second half so it was a case of not taking any risk with him.”
Rangers are of course not without injury problems of their own with captain James Tavernier a major doubt for the clash and midfielder Ryan Jack still awaiting the results of a specialist scan.
Rangers will be able to call on teenage right-back Nathan Patterson if Tavernier can’t make the XI for the match – something which let to Steven Gerrard joshing Kennedy earlier in the week.
