Celtic host Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig for a pivotal Champions League group stage match on Tuesday evening. And the Hoops will know going into the game that anything other than a win will pretty much end their hopes of making it to the knockout rounds of the competition.
Amid the anticipation surrounding the game, the reigning Scottish champions have lost some key players to injury and fitness problems. And unexpectedly, one of them might very well turn out to be Jota, who had to be withdrawn at half-time in Celtic’s 2-1 win over St Johnstone at the weekend.
After the match, it emerged that the reason behind Jota’s withdrawal was fatigue. But now, it appears that there might potentially be more to the matter, which forced Ange Postecoglou to make the change at half-time.
It looks like Jota did not take part in Celtic’s latest training session ahead of the Champions League game on Tuesday, and his availability for the game against RB Leipzig is now in doubt. It might be a good time to point out that it was the Portuguese winger who scored for the Scottish giants when the two sides met in Germany.
Celtic handed unexpected Jota worry before RB Leipzig clash at Parkhead
As reported by the Daily Record, Postecoglou had some worrying comments about Jota’s situation ahead of the game vs RB Leipzig in midweek at Parkhead:
"“We’ll make a decision tomorrow. He’s a bit sore. All the players are important in different ways. With the short turnaround it’s not unusual for someone not to be right the day before a game when we’ve got such a quick turnaround. It’s just a matter of whether he’s right or not. If he’s right we’ll play him and if not then he’ll miss out.”"
While Postecoglou will make a late decision on Jota’s availability, it is without doubt a major worry for the club. The winger has been one of their best players since he arrived last summer from Benfica and has been signed permanently since then.
Hopefully, Jota’s situation is nothing serious and he is back on the pitch as soon as possible because Celtic certainly need him. He is the club’s only player to score in the Champions League this season till now.