Martin O'Neill has issued an update on Celtic's availability question marks after Sunday's Falkirk defeat. The Bhoys lost 2-0 away to Falkirk, suffering their second league defeat of the season and giving Rangers the chance to close the gap when they play their game in-hand.
There were a couple of absentees from the Celtic squad, with Jota and Oliver Sorensen not included in the squad, while two players were withdrawn on the day in Callum Osmand and Kieran Tierney.
After the game, O'Neill confirmed that Osmand's withdrawal was purely tactical, while Tierney did have a couple of knocks. The Celtic boss said on the latter: "He took a couple of knocks here, but I'm hoping that he'll be OK."
As for the absence of Jota, who played well off the bench during the week, O'Neill added: "No, he’s well. He’s just back, obviously, from injury.
“And I think in terms of the pitch, then, we thought the best, with the type of injury that he’s recovering from, might just be best to leave him.”
Finally, Sorensen, who has been a regular substitute, was left out due to a family bereavement, O'Neill has confirmed. Auston Trusty has also been out for the last week or so due to a loss, with his father having passed away. Trusty returned to training this week but was given more time off this weekend to attend the celebration of his father's life
Celtic have another quick turnaround following the defeat, returning to Europa League action on Thursday night, when they face Besiktas.
Trusty is likely to return to selection for that game, while Sorensen will now likely get time off. Jota should come back into the fold, while we will have to see how Tierney responds to the knocks over the coming days, but given they are only knocks, he shouldn't be far off.
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