Celtic: Stuart Armstrong set to be sidelined

DUNDEE, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 26: Stuart Armstrong of Celtic arrives prior to the Scottish Premier League match between Dundee and Celtic at Dens Park on December 26, 2017 in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
DUNDEE, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 26: Stuart Armstrong of Celtic arrives prior to the Scottish Premier League match between Dundee and Celtic at Dens Park on December 26, 2017 in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic are bound to be taking some blows from the transfer market. Yet, no player has been reported recently to miss time in the future due to injury.

Stuart Armstrong underwent surgery very recently to his hernia, and the central midfielder is expected to be out for a period of time.

After signing a two-year deal last summer, Armstrong went on to put on a decent 4 goals and 5 assists within all competitions for Celtic this season. However, the injury has continued to nag at Armstrong even when the Bhoys traveled to Dubai.

The 25-year-old has found a brilliant spell of form in the Celts’ most recent fixtures. Armstrong has created chaos for opposing defenders while finding some good interplay with Scott Sinclair and even Kieran Tierney.

He’s set to miss several Scottish Premiership fixtures, but could make his return as soon as February. It would be nice to have him in the lineup when the Bhoys play out their Europa League tie with Zenit in that month.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – NOVEMBER 26: James Forrest of Celtic celebrates his goal with Stuart Armstrong Moussa Celtic during the Betfred Cup Final at Hampden Park on November 26, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – NOVEMBER 26: James Forrest of Celtic celebrates his goal with Stuart Armstrong Moussa Celtic during the Betfred Cup Final at Hampden Park on November 26, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

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The Scotsman notes some of the games the midfielder will miss, along with some hopeful incite as to when the Scot could return.

"He’ll miss Celtic’s return to domestic action which includes Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth round tie with minnows Brechin, followed by Premiership clashes against Partick Thistle, Hibs and Hearts.But the Scotland ace could target a return for Celtic’s forthcoming double-header with Russian cracks Zenit St Petersburg in the last 32 of the Europa League."

Celtic cannot afford any more injuries in the second-half of the campaign. Brendan Rodgers‘ side rebounded well after the loss to Hearts in December, and that was with a relatively healthy squad.

As mentioned before, the Celtic squad as a whole picked up the form after the streak-ending loss by picking up points for the rest of the month. The next portion of the campaign will involve several competitions as the Hoops look for another treble, and they’ll need to healthy squad to do it.

The surgery might also indicate that Celtic are even more ready to bring in fresh faces. Charly Musonda continues to be linked to the Glasgow side as he seems unhappy with his minutes at Stamford Bridge.

Armstrong will be missed in the team, but we can all hope for a speedy recovery.

Next: Daily Record with an interesting opinion on Scott Brown

Do you think Armstrong will return in time for the Zenit clash? Let us know in the comments below.