Celtic defender Anthony Ralston is set to be on the sidelines for the coming weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper claim on their website that the 20-year-old, who had become a regular member of the starting XI prior to the winter break in Scotland, has picked up the blow and will be ruled out of the Hoops’ upcoming matches.
The youth graduatehas four appearances to his name this season, the last coming in the 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox, and missed out on Wednesday’s 4-0 victory over St Mirren.
Opinion
Many at Parkhead will not see this as too serious a blow for their hopes but Ralston was putting in some fine performances before the winter break came along and he would have been hoping to continue to impress in 2019. It was veteran Hoop Mikael Lustig who took on the right back role against St Mirren and he can be expected to keep his spot for the foreseeable future with Ralston out of action. With rumours of the Bhoys seeking out a new full back to bolster their options, this injury setback could not have come at a worse time for the youngster, who will want to be doing his utmost to prove to Brendan Rodgers that he has what it takes to be a competitive option at the back. Instead he needs to fight back from this blow and find a way to usurp Lustig from his place in the team – a task easier said than done. Football is a cruel game and while Ralston has time on his side, he knows this is a case of what could have been had it not been for his setback.