Celtic have been dealt a major blow on the injury front and it concerns their Australian midfielder Tom Rogic.
The Australian has been forced to withdraw from international duty as a result of an injury that he picked up at the weekend during Celtic’s 4-0 victory.
The 29-year-old was on the receiving end of a reckless challenge by Ross County’s Kayne Ramsay which has taken him out of consideration for the Socceroos and could leave Ange Postecoglou sweating over his fitness considering what is coming down the line for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Big blow for the Old Firm
This injury could not have come at a worse time for Celtic, as their next game will see them take on Rangers in a game that could have a big say in what will be happening when it comes to the Scottish Premiership title race with Celtic currently ahead of their Glasgow rivals by just three points.
Rogic has been a very influential player for Celtic this season, he currently has 6 assists in the league, joint-third in the side, is averaging 1.6 key passes per game which is joint-sixth in the side and is completing an impressive 81.2% of his passes in the league (via WhoScored).
And given how important the game is for them, controlling the play will be important for Celtic in order to pick up a result and losing Rogic from the side could be seen as a massive blow to the team.
It could easily have been avoided
Is Rogic Celtic's most important midfielder?
Yes
No
Just a few minutes earlier, a similarly reckless challenge on Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda could easily have seen him be booked, which might have led him to be a little bit more cautious when going in to his tackle with Rogic and might have produced a much kinder show of force from the Ross County man.
So if referee Don Robertson had done his job on the day and booked Ramsay at the first available opportunity, then it might have just allowed Rogic to carry on playing on Saturday without having to succumb to the terrible injury.
The standards of refereeing in Scotland have been questioned recently, with former Bhoy Chris Sutton making his views known, but given how badly this injury could affect him and the side, you would imagine that Celtic fans will be incredibly angry with how things have played out and the impact that his absence from missing the upcoming game and possibly games will have.
TIF Verdict…
It certainly is a worrying situation for Celtic to find themselves in given the importance of not only their next game but potentially the ones going forward as well, and something that should be leaving many Celtic fans furious with how things have played out for them.
And you would imagine that Postecoglou will be fuming as well with how the issue has been handled as it could cost him a very important player for a very important game.
In other news: Awful: Celtic supporters won’t be happy as footage emerges – opinion