Celtic have a lot of things to be worried about at this point in time. Of course, the biggest of them is their search to bring in a new permanent manager. Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney are in interim charge following Brendan Rodgers' resignation. There were high expectations that they would make an appointment during this international break but that has not happened.
On the other hand, there is a lot riding on their performance in the January transfer window as well. The summer one was a failure, no matter which way you look at it. Now, this has to be the beginning of their squad rebuild with a new vision.
Amid all this, one cannot ignore the extent of Celtic's injury problems. They have several key players out with long-term injuries, and quite a few have already undergone surgeries.
There were fears that the name of Colby Donovan could be added to that list after he was stretchered off during a recent Scotland U21 game. Fortunately, there does seem to be a positive update on his situation although the extent of the issue still remains somewhat unclear.
Celtic handed fresh injury news by international manager
As reported by The Herald, Scotland under-21 head coach Scot Gemmill said regarding the status of Donovan on the back of his injury scare:
"He’s gone back to his club. We arrived at 5 o’clock on Sunday, but he has gone back to Celtic. He’s too sore to play, but the X-ray was clear.
“The level of care he got in Gibraltar was fantastic, as he went straight to the hospital, straight in for an X-ray, and actually back in the hotel in time to eat his dinner! I think with those injuries, you just can’t take any risk. It was clear that he couldn’t continue.
“Hopefully, his ankle can settle down quickly – there's a chance that Celtic may choose to do their own scan, but that’s obviously a decision they’ll make."
Well, that does sound positive for sure. We are expected to learn more about the extent and nature of the issue over the coming days.
Let's see how things play out. Celtic do not have a lot of options at right-back at the moment, with Alistair Johnston out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey did feature there in the previous match and could perhaps be an option moving forward as well if Donovan needs to spend some time on the sidelines in order to fully recover from the issue.
Perhaps it would not be the worst idea in the world to try and sign a right-back in January as well. Johnston is a great option there but in recent times, he has become a bit injury-prone. One could argue though that his return was not handled correctly and he should have never started straight off the bat when returning from a previous injury. It felt like a desperate decision because the Hoops were under pressure to deliver a result.