Celtic midfielder-turned-defender Nir Bitton is the latest name to miss out on the club’s upcoming tie with Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers after testing positive for Covid-19 [Celtic].
The Israeli international joins French U21 striker Odsonne Edouard in contracting the virus on international duty, whilst influential midfielder Ryan Christie is in self-isolation.
The Scotland international had been exposed to the virus by spending time with Stuart Armstrong – who tested positive – whilst on Scotland duty.
Bitton’s absence also comes after he defied Neil Lennon’s wishes regarding playing for his country during this international break [Daily Record].
Combine that with injury problems to James Forrest – who will definitely miss out – and striker Albian Ajeti – who is a major doubt – and the problems are mounting for Celtic.
Rangers are not without their own injury worries but, so far at least, the Ibrox club have been lucky with the international break.
But with just under a week left in the break, there’s every chance one of their own players could post a positive test in the coming week.
This is something which has been acknowledged by some of the Ibrox fans, who are all saying the same thing.
Whether it affects Celtic or the upcoming match with Rangers or not, fans have called into question the decision to let an international break go ahead in mid-October amid a global pandemic.
https://twitter.com/Ne0bliviscaris/status/1314987038261874688
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With Rangers players in club bubbles now jet-setting across the globe in the middle of the Covid-19 shutdown, is it really worth the risk to have them play all of these internationals right now?
