Martin O'Neill has clarified why Kasper Schmeichel and Arne Engels were missing from Saturday's Scottish Cup squad against Dundee.
O'Neill made a few changes this weekend, notably with new signing Joel Mvuka coming into the squad. Viljami Sinisalo took his place between the sticks, with Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate returning in the midfield. Junior Adamu was named on the bench, while Benjamin Arthur was left out of the squad.
The Celtic manager told Premier Sports before the match his reasons for excluding Schmeichel and Engels from the matchday squad:
"Kasper just needs a break, really. I think that he's got a bit of a shoulder problem that he will have the chance to clear up. I think he will get an injection."
On Engels, he said:
"There is no problem with [Engels] whatsoever. Everything is absolutely fine. It's a matter of changing and rotating the side with a lot of games to play."
No surprise in rotation
We discussed a lot last week about Celtic's intense fixture list and how rotation is incredibly important if we want to survive. This seems to be the start of that, and we can assume that we will continue to rotate in cup competitions. O'Neill's best squad will likely be saved for the Scottish Premiership and the Europa League.
Fans were worried that the rumours of Engels being unhappy may be true with his exclusion from the squad, but thankfully, that isn't the case. It was reported that the midfielder was upset by three bids for him from Nottingham Forest being rejected. Although there may be something there, he is clearly happy to continue playing for the club, at least until the end of the season.
Balikwisha - to play or not to play?
With so many matches coming up, is there a chance that Michel-Ange Balikwisha could make his way back into the squad?
The DR Congo international signed for Celtic from Royal Antwerp in the summer for a fee of £5 million and has had a horrendous debut season in Glasgow. The times he has played, fans have been incredibly disappointed in his performance, especially when he didn't impress against lower-league side Auchinleck Talbot.
He is an option domestically, so if O'Neill still has any trust in him, he may play him. However, this likely won't be the case, and you should expect not to see the winger for the rest of the campaign. Everyone knows that the Hoops can't afford to drop any points now, and playing Balikwisha may be too risky.