Celtic have been handed a major injury boost as things appear to be looking up for the Hoops after a rough couple of weeks.
Celtic’s win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final was a much needed one. While it keeps hopes for a fourth straight Treble alive, it also was the club’s first win in five games. Safe to say, it will be a huge morale boost for the Bhoys as they look to bring their season back on track.
The win was not the only positive coming out of the game. Speaking ahead of the game, Neil confirmed that the injury to Kristoffer Ajer was not as serious as first feared and the defender was expected to return to action by next week.
As reported by BBC, the Celtic manager confirmed the news in his pre-match interview:
"Celtic manager Neil Lennon says Odsonne Edouard’s return is “psychologically a big lift” for Celtic.He also tells BBC Sportsound that Kristoffer Ajer’s injury is not as bad as first feared and the defender should return next week, although he misses out today."
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This is clearly a massive boost for the club. Shane Duffy has not looked the part since joining the club on loan earlier in the summer. And while he might be on a massive salary, that cannot justify giving him chance after chance if the performances are not there.
To be fair to Duffy, he put in a decent performance against Aberdeen on Sunday. But Nir Bitton seemed to be the better of the two central defenders who started the game. And Ajer was the pick of the defenders over the past several weeks before he was brought off injured against Lille.
Thus, it might not be the worst idea in the world to give the combination of Bitton and Ajer a chance when the Norwegian is back from his injury, hopefully by next week as Lennon suggested. Or maybe Shane Duffy could return to his best and establish himself as the dominant defender that fans thought they were getting when they brought him from Brighton and Hove Albion.