Celtic confirm double boost heading into Glasgow Derby

After a week of losing players from his list to select the Celtic starting line up for Saturday’s Glasgow derby, Neil Lennon will have been delighted to see his options increase.

It’s well documented already about Celtic players ruled out by the testing rules. And then there is the normal injury list to take into consideration. But there is hopeful progress and much better news on a few fronts. We’ll have to see what actually happens and who makes it to the starting line up, but with possibly some additional players to choose from, it’s a problem Lennon won’t mind wrestling with.

At the media briefing today there were some quick headlines on availability which brought good news.

Albian Ajeti has been in great goal scoring form. His ability to grab goals from tight positions in the box could be invaluable on Saturday. He limped off with what looked like a hamstring strain after scoring the second of three goals against Hibernian on 27th September at Parkhead. It was unclear if he could be ready for the derby match, he’s now available and ready to play his part from the start or the bench. Great news for Celtic fans and Lennon!

Odsonne Edouard kicked off Celtic’s spate of bad news when it was reported that he had been tested positive after travelling to the French U21 international base. The timeline was such that he came out of isolation during this week and was able to return to Glasgow on Friday.

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With the isolation he’s not been in full training mode. As long as the break hasn’t left him underprepared then Edouard too could play a part tomorrow. Again from the start or from the bench. As the news reports the player is being assessed today and Lennon will know more soon. No doubt he’ll be planning how to mix the available resources up to get a potent striker mix up front. More great news if he can be available for selection.

And then there is Ryan Christie. We’ll have to see how the story develops over his availability with Arsenal seeking to play Kieran Tierney at the weekend. You’d expect the same rules to apply to both Christie and Tierney equally, you’d not be surprised if some obscure ruling meant otherwise. Celtic are clearly keeping close to that situation, follow our related story link below for the latest news.

Better news after a torrid week, more decisions for Lennon to take. We’ll have to wait and see what he chooses to do.