Ange Postecoglou had dropped a worrying injury update concerning Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic.
What’s the latest?
In recent comments made to Celtic TV, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss revealed that, after being withdrawn due to taking a knock to his ankle in the Hoops’ victory over Ross County last week, the 29-year-old now looks set to be ruled out for the medium-term – with the midfielder unlikely to take part in first-team training this week.
Speaking about the current condition of the Australia international, Postecoglou said: “We’ll see how it all transpires. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go back and represent his country which was disappointing for him.
“He’s still sore. He probably won’t train this week and we’ll just assess how he goes in the week leading up to the next game. But suffice to say he was pretty sore after it. He probably could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, but at the same time it’s enough to keep him out for the medium-term.”
Supporters will be gutted
While the 4-0 thumping of Ross County was a game in which David Turnbull finally made his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury, the news that – as a result of a setback sustained in the same fixture – Rogic could now be sidelined for the potentially season-defining Old Firm clash on April 3 is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful gutted.
While it is true that the £1.35m-rated midfielder’s form has tailed off somewhat in recent weeks, generally speaking, the 29-year-old has enjoyed something of a renaissance under the management of Postecoglou this season.
Indeed, over his 25 Premiership appearances in the current campaign, the £21.5k-per-week playmaker has scored five goals, registered six assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 1.7 key passes per game – with these returns seeing the Aussie average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.00.
As such, considering just how important Celtic’s upcoming clash with Rangers is in the Premiership title race – with a victory at Ibrox potentially putting the Hoops six points clear of their rivals with just six games of the season left to play – should Rogic indeed be ruled out of the fixture, it would undoubtedly come as a huge blow – not only to Celtic’s chances of securing an Old Firm victory but also to the Bhoys’ hopes of reclaiming their Scottish crown.
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