Celtic have been relatively injury-free in recent weeks, which has been a big boost for Ange Postecoglou. They recently won the Scottish League Cup final against the Rangers by a 2-1 scoreline, thanks to a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi. And they are leading the Premiership title race by nine points as well, with 11 league games left to be played. On the other hand, the Hoops are also still in the Scottish Cup, where they will take on Hearts in the quarter-finals.
Thus, there is a lot left to play for this season and a potential treble still on the table. Thus, Postecoglou must be hoping that his players do not pick up any injuries, heading into the business end of the campaign.
Unfortunately, James Forrest has done just that, picking up an issue in training. And now, it looks like the Scottish international will be out of action for weeks, probably beyond the international break.
As reported by the Daily Record, Postecoglou said about the situation of Forrest:
"“James Forrest got a bit of a muscle strain in training so he is going to be out for a little while, which is unfortunate for him. He will miss the next period of games probably beyond the international break.”"
Celtic player ruled out for weeks after suffering injury in training
Forrest has not been a regular contributor for Celtic this season, but when he has been on the pitch, he has made his presence felt. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists in 20 appearances and 640 minutes of football in total.
Forrest has dealt with several injury problems in recent years but had managed to remain available this season, until this issue. One can only hope that he recovers as soon as possible and is ready to get back on the pitch. It is not just his play, but his wealth of experience, that is important to Celtic.
Forrest’s absence should not come as a huge blow to the starting XI though. He has only started five games this season till now.