‘Why wouldn’t he play’ – Celtic legend makes big Derby claim

Peter Grant has made a big claim about the availability of the Celtic star in the upcoming Glasgow Derby on October 17th.

The international break has not been too kind to Celtic as they have suffered two massive blows in the space of a day, both of which are expected to adversely affect their upcoming Glasgow Derby against the Rangers.

First, it emerged that Odsonne Edouard had tested positive after reporting for France under-21 duty in Clarefontaine. As a result, the Frenchman’s availability for the match was put into doubt.

Then news broke out yesterday that Ryan Christie had also been ordered to spend 14 days in isolation after Southampton’ Stuart Armstrong had also tested positive while on Scottish international duty. The Celtic midfielder along with Kieran Tierney were identified as two people he had been in close contact with in the last few days.

On top of that, Celtic are already missing James Forrest, who will be out till November after it was confirmed that he had fractured his ankle in the game against Riga. And it becomes clear why most fans are not happy with the timing of the international break in the middle of a global pandemic.

Celtic legend Peter Grant believes though that Odsonne Edouard should be available for the game. He told The Scottish Sun:

"“There is absolutely no doubt about that. That would have been his first thought when he got the phone call on Tuesday night.“But if he is allowed to go back into training on the Thursday before the Rangers match, there is no doubt in my mind he would be available.“If he’s in good health Neil will want him to play. He is such an important player for him in these big games.“It won’t be a case of Neil forcing him to play or putting him under pressure, but if Edouard is feeling fine, why wouldn’t he play, even if he’s only back in training for a day or two?”"

It would be a huge boost for Celtic if Edouard does end up being available for the game. The Frenchman is a huge part of this side, especially with Albian Ajeti also in a race against time to be fit for the game and Griffiths only having featured in one game and that too as a substitute through the course of this season.

It will all depend on how quickly Edouard recovers and that is most important at this point of time. So let’s hope for French Eddy’s speedy recovery and hopefully we get to see him on the pitch against the Rangers.