Joe Hart has claimed that Celtic duo James McCarthy and Stephen Welsh are struggling to be fit for this weekend’s game.
Celtic finally get their SPFL season back underway tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Aberdeen with a bit more pressure on their shoulders after their nearest league rivals picked up three points last night.
The Bhoys will be brimming with confidence though given how strong they were domestically in the first half of the campaign losing just one league game and given their relatively clean bill of health, Ange Postecoglou will be hoping for a victory.
Hart has been speaking on Sky Sports about how McCarthy and Welsh are the only two players struggling to be match fit for tomorrow’s game.
(0:05) “We’ve got an incredibly strong squad at the moment I think it’s just James McCarthy and maybe Stephen Welsh who are struggling for that fixture but the squad’s really strong.
Are you confident Celtic will beat Abderdeen?
Yes!
No!
“We’ve got good numbers, we’ve got a good amount of games coming up and we’re built to work hard, we’re built to put in these trips, work midweek and go again.”
TIF Thoughts on Celtic’s fitness situation…
Given that Celtic had a number of players away at the World Cup and it’s been so long since others played competitive football, Postecoglou will be delighted that only two players are set to be absent this weekend.
Both Welsh and McCarthy have had their struggles this season in terms of fitness and injuries managing to feature in just 11 competitive games collectively, so Postecoglou won’t likely be too worried not having them available to play vs Aberdeen as that’s been the case for the majority of the season.
Celtic will be wanting to pick up where they left off earlier in 2022 and extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points which would see them ensure top spot heading into 2023 and Postecoglou certainly appears to have all the armoury required to do so against Aberdeen.