Supporters of Celtic have been reacting to a claim which has been made regarding the Hoops’ French centre-back Christopher Jullien.
According to senior sports reporter for Radio Clyde Alison Conroy, the defender has not travelled with the squad to face Riga FC.
The clash against the Latvian club takes place on Thursday in Celtic’s third qualifying round tie in the Europa League (per BBC).
Neil Lennon’s side dropped into the qualifying rounds of the competition after being beaten by Ferencvaros in qualification for the Champions League.
After the claim regarding Jullien was posted to social media, lots of fans flocked to it to air their thoughts.
Chris Jullien hasn’t travelled with Celtic to play Riga tomorrow night
— Alison Conroy (@AlisonGConroy) September 23, 2020
Was injured at weekend. No big deal
— Cmon-the-Hoops (@the_LEGEND1976) September 23, 2020
Lenny said he ‘picked up a knock at training’ and was being assessed in his Friday Press conference last week. Was there ever any elaboration about how the assessment went?
— Matthew Breckenridge (@mtb_hb) September 23, 2020
How serious is it?
— . (@KlNG89) September 23, 2020
For Celtic’s previous two Premiership clashes, the Frenchman has not been involved for the Hoops (per Transfermarkt).
In the 2-1 victory over St. Mirren, the 27-year-old defender was an unused substitute, while in the 3-2 win against Livingston, he was not included in the squad at all.
Injured ?
— Paul (@wyndbhoy) September 23, 2020
Unleash Bitton https://t.co/jAAZGKABTG
— Christophe de Moray (@onekrismurray) September 23, 2020
So far this season, Jullien has been a key performer for the Hoops in the league, as he has been their fifth-best player with a stellar 7.49/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
However, with much speculation surrounding why the Frenchman had not travelled with the squad to play Riga, a further tweet from Conroy revealed that he had a ‘back issue‘.
Will Christopher Jullien be missed if he is injured for an extended period?
No, he's not that good
Yes, he's a key player
that team must have a big physical player and he doesn’t want to face him
— Robert Leckenby (@1970Metalhead) September 23, 2020
His back must be gubbed, having to carry Ajer for so long.
— Der Stench Kaput (@Derstenchnewco) September 23, 2020
As can be seen in what these Celtic fans had to say, there was plenty of speculation surrounding the fact the Frenchman had not travelled with the squad, while they can only hope he is fit to feature for the first team in the near future.