OPINION
There is no one who embodies the spirit and passion of Celtic more than midfield hero Scott Brown – and it is why the veteran has been part of the starting XI for so many years.
His no-nonsense, all action attitude has endeared him to the Parkhead faithful and the club captain is without a doubt one of, if not the, first name on the team sheet for Brendan Rodgers – which makes an injury blow all the more difficult for the manager.
To make his job doubly difficult though, it appears as though the Hoops have suffered a double injury blow in the middle of the park, with Tom Rogic also suffering, and as such the boss will be left scratching his head over who to fill the void with for their visit to RB Salzburg in the Europa League on Thursday.
He told the Scottish Sun: “Tom Rogic is out, but he should be OK for Sunday. Broony – he could be struggling. He didn’t train this morning. I would never take a risk on any player if it meant he could be out longer term.
“He’s brilliant for me. You know if he can’t play, then he genuinely can’t play and the risk is too great. If he’s not available, then it will be someone else who comes in to do a job. If we can recover him for the weekend, then fine.
“If he’s no good for the weekend then he’ll definitely be back after the international break.”
It sounds as though Brown is almost definitely out, which leaves few options for Rodgers – Olivier Ntcham excluded as he is already expected to start.
The one man likely to plug the gap is fellow veteran Youssouf Mulumbu, the freebie signing from summer who has been a rarely seen figure this season, with just 70 minutes of action in his sole appearance so far.
However, despite his lack of game time he looks to be the one who is set to fill the big boots of Brown, and this could be a game which makes or breaks the rest of his career at Parkhead.
A good performance puts him in contention to feature much more regularly, battling with Ntcham for a first team spot or filling in for Brown to give the fan favourite a rest.
However, a poor display will only set him back in his hopes of regular playing time, falling behind Rogic in the pecking order again, and with chances to shine at a premium, he has to take whatever falls his way – starting with the clash against Salzburg.