Julian Araujo has been left out of the Mexico squad for the upcoming international break, sparking concern among Celtic supporters after he was also left out against Motherwell at Parkhead.
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre has named his team for the upcoming friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, and despite lots of rumours that Araujo would be the first name in the squad due to his fantastic form since joining the Hoops, the defender has been snubbed. Reports in the country are saying that the manager had 'fitness concerns' about the player.
Araujo missed the Motherwell game due to a thigh issue, but the extent of it was unknown. It seems as though it may be slightly more serious than first expected, but hopefully, he will be able to recover over the international break.
Celtic can't lose Araujo now
The last thing that the Hoops can afford to do is lose Araujo through injury. The player has been fantastic since joining up with Martin O'Neill's squad in January, and has slotted in perfectly for Alistair Johnston, who was injured earlier in the season. Thankfully, it seems as though Johnston may be back on the pitch very soon, but that doesn't mean we don't need Araujo.
He would be a big loss for the next Scottish Premiership game, where Celtic will travel to face Dundee United. An away game is never easy, no matter the opponent, and losing a player who is willing to dart up and down the pitch, contributing to both the attack and the defence, can be huge.
Of course, the reports in Mexico could be an overreaction. For all we know, the player will be totally fine, but we do have to consider that there may be truth there. After all, it would make sense. Celtic have just come off the back of a tricky run of away games, which saw him play a lot of minutes. The 120 minutes that he played at Ibrox were probably enough to cause some issues alone, so all we can hope is that he will be ready in time.
If he is out, he will likely be replaced by Colby Donovan. The right-back looked good against Motherwell, so we can only hope that he can keep up that form. If he doesn't play, the other option will be Anthony Ralston.
O'Neill is set to hold a press conference soon, and hopefully, we will hear good news about Araujo. Fingers crossed that the fullback's injury isn't too bad.