Brendan Rodgers has a tough task each week when selecting his squad for matches. Who to pick and who to leave out is always a difficult choice. One Celtic star was dropped out of the squad recently as players return from injury. But it seems that he remains focused and happy, having gotten quite a bit of playing time since joining in the summer.
It’s still a relatively short time since the club signed up Swedish centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke. Injuries to key defenders and the move away by Carl Starfelt led to Celtic moving quickly to sign the Swede from IF Elfsborg.
The Hoops had already bolstered their defence by signing Maik Nawrocki and, at the end of the transfer window, brought in Nat Phillips on loan until January. The latter did arrive with fitness issues to take care of before getting on the pitch.
With Nawrocki joining Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh and Phillips on the injury list, Lagerbielke was quickly put to action for the Hoops. He featured in a very makeshift defence alongside Liam Scales. Both got off to a decent start, although it’s been the former Shamrock Rovers player who has been the stand-out success of the two.
Celtic player unsure why he was dropped from the squad
The return of Carter-Vickers and Phillips to fitness saw Lagerbielke drop out from the matchday squad for last weekend’s match against Kilmarnock. It seems obvious that those two players needed some game time to get match-fit, and Scales has earned his starting place for now.
As reported by Fotbollskanalen, Lagerbielke said when asked why he was dropped:
"“I do not know. There have been many matches that I have had to play a lot. I think it’s about rotation and that we are a lot of centre-backs competing and that he wants to see everyone. I’ve had to play a lot and feel that it’s gone well, and that’s the most important thing.”"
He seems to be happy and focussed though, as he continued:
"“Yes, you might think so, but I am very happy with my first time at Celtic and I think it has gone very well. So it’s not something I’ve thought about or worried about.”"
We should also bear in mind that Lagerbielke ruled himself out of the Champions League match with his suspension for a red card against Feyenoord. So it’s perhaps not a surprise to see him being rested, for now anyway. He will have had a great boost and some more game time with his first goal for Sweden against Moldova this week in just his second appearance in the full national team.