Celtic handed massive Stephen Welsh injury boost

This won’t solve all the defensive frailties that Celtic face but it’s still positive news, which makes it very welcome for Neil Lennon and fans.

The available cover across the full backs and centre backs has been stretched seriously by departures, injuries and some question marks over form. Hatem Abd Elamed has gone back to Israel, Jeremie Frimpong is now in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, Christopher Jullien is most likely out for the rest of the season, Nir Bitton is still injured. Shane Duffy looks to have had a significant loss of confidence ever since moving to Parkhead and isn’t reliable at the moment.

And then Stephen Welsh, who has stepped in comfortably in recent matches added to Lennon’s defensive woes when he was stretchered off in the match against St. Mirren on Wednesday night.

A hurried ball played across the Hoops defence ended in a late and unintentionally painful tackle by Saints striker Jon Obika on Welsh. For those who saw the match on TV, it was quite a serious moment when you saw the painful look on the youngster’s face and the stretchers being prepared.

Celtic have been handed Welsh injury boost

Immediate concerns over breaks or ligament damage were being mentioned. The player had a protective boot on him as he exited St Mirren Park after the game.

But Sky Sports’ Anthony has confirmed that the injury is not as serious as first feared and Welsh could be back in action as soon as Sunday. He tweeted out:

"Celtic defender Stephen Welsh has escaped serious injury after being stretchered off against St Mirren.He has severe bruising on his foot, but no fractures or ligament damage.It’s understood he will be assessed again tomorrow to determine whether he can play on Sunday."

The club will keep him under assessment but with there being no serious injury apparent, the good news is that Welsh will be back in contention for a place reasonably soon and quicker than was initially feared.

That may well mean Shane Duffy starting against St Johnstone at the weekend and hopefully he’ll see that through safely and Neil Lennon can have some choices again afterwards in the heart of defence.