The Celtic star has come out to rubbish rumours that broke out earlier today that he had also tested positive and would miss the upcoming Glasgow Derby.
It is understandable that there is a bit of panic among Celtic fans at the moment regarding the international break. Over the last weeks, questions have been raised about the thought process behind organising international games in the middle of a pandemic. And those concerns have been justified by the sheer number of players who caught the virus after leaving their club bubbles to report for national duty.
Celtic are a club who have suffered the consequences of such hasty decision making. Odsonne Edouard, Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed have all tested positive while with their national teams. Ryan Christie on the other hand has been told to spend 14 days in isolation after he was adjudged to have been a close contact of Stuart Armstrong, who also tested positive.
These blows could not have come at a worse time for the Hoops as they prepare to welcome the Rangers on Saturday. And as things stand, they will be without a number of their stars on the big day.
As a result, it is pretty easy to spread rumours at this point of time as the fans are on the edge about receiving further bad news. And that’s what happened earlier today when there were a few rumblings online that the Norwegian duo of Kristoffer Ajer and Mohamed Elyounoussi had also apparently tested positive.
Those rumours have been immediately rubbished by Kristoffer Ajer. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the Celtic star said:
"“There have been some cases with Celtic players.“But all protocols and everything have been carried out in a brilliant way here with the Norway national team. We have had full control. Everyone has worn a face mask and follows the guidelines that have come from UEFA.“So it has not been a problem to be here.”"
It is certainly a relief to know that both Ajer and Elyounoussi are doing well. With all the blows that the club have received over the last few days, they certainly cannot afford anymore heading into Saturday’s game.
As things stand, James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed are definitely out. There are doubts over the availability of Odsonne Edouard at this point of time. While Albian Ajeti continues to fight to achieve full fitness before the game in a race against time.
As a result, it will be interesting to see whether Neil Lennon decides to change up his line up against the Rangers, considering how many players he has missing at the moment. And we can only that that number does not go up any further with another set of international fixtures yet to played.