Celtic find themselves in deep trouble at the moment. We are just two weeks into the season and their injury list is already significant. And no area of the pitch has been more hurt by this than centre-back. Carl Starfelt left earlier in order to join Celta Vigo. Since then, three centre-backs have ended up on the sidelines.
Cameron Carter-Vickers suffered an injury in the league game against Aberdeen away at Pittodrie Stadium. Stephen Welsh then picked up a problem in training and will need to undergo surgery.
Those two have been joined by Maik Nawrocki on the injured list. The centre-back was signed from Legia Warsaw for a transfer fee north of £4 million and has been a starter since arriving.
His run in the starting XI is set to be cut short though. As reported by The Scottish Sun, Nawrocki suffered a hamstring injury in the closing stages of the club’s 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock away at Rugby Park.
Celtic player suffered hamstring injury vs Kilmarnock
It would be an understatement to say that Brendan Rodgers could struggle to come up with a solid centre-back pairing moving forward, with the options that he has available to him. Gustaf Lagerbielke is expected to start, but who will partner with him in the heart of defence?
Liam Scales feels like the most likely option. He has experience in the Scottish game and impressed in pre-season. Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata can play there as well but have not been able to make their presence felt since arriving earlier this year.
It remains to be seen how things play out from here. It is important though that Celtic pick no other injuries moving forward. The club have already signed two centre-backs this summer in the form of Lagerbielke and Nawrocki. Thus, it is unlikely that they would be open to the idea of signing any more in this window.