Celtic handed huge injury boost before League Cup semi-final

Celtic should head into their Scottish League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone with confidence on their side. Ange Postecoglou’s team look like the in form club in Scotland right now, having won seven of their previous eight games across all competitions, while drawing the remaining one. That includes a recent 2-0 win over their opponents this weekend.

It had looked like Celtic might have a massive worry heading into the game though. Both Carl Starfelt and Christopher Jullien are out of action at the moment, and then Stephen Welsh had also limped off the pitch while representing the Scotland under-21 side.

Thus, this could have turned out to be a major problem and Postecoglou could have been left scrambling for options at centre-back.

But fortunately, it does not look like that will be the case, as Welsh’s problem does not appear to be serious. As reported by The Herald, the Celtic defender said:

"“Personally, I’m fine. It was a knock when their player had a shot and followed through on us, but I just came off as a precaution. I’ll be fine for the weekend. You’re always worried when you feel a bit of pain, but luckily it wasn’t a twist or anything. It was just pure impact so I should be fine.”"

Celtic appear to have avoided a serious injury crisis before the League Cup semi-final

This will be a major boost for Celtic, who could have been in serious trouble if Welsh’s injury had turned out to be a serious one. But judging by the defender’s comments, it does feel like he will be available for the game this weekend.

Even then, the Hoops have had their fair share of worries at the back in recent games though and have not looked nearly as solid since Starfelt picked up an injury and has been out of action.

This could be another massive chance for Welsh to get himself back in the first-team plans though, after he had spent quite a stretch of games out of the starting XI with Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers forming a solid partnership in the heart of the Hoops’ defence. Let’s see how things turn out in the Scottish League Cup semi-final.