Celtic could only manage a goalless draw against Dundee United this weekend, allowing the pack to catch up a bit. To be honest, the Hoops' recent performances have not been great and perhaps a result like this was coming. Hopefully, it ends up being a bit of a wake up call for the Scottish champions.
One cannot overlook the fact though that Brendan Rodgers did not field Celtic's strongest team against Dundee United. The backline was much changed with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Alistair Johnston all being left out of the starting XI.
There was a significant absentee going forward as well. Nicolas Kuhn was left out and it was Hyun-jun Yang who started in his place.
Kuhn has been Celtic's best player so far this season. So, his being left out will have raised concerns amongst the fans about a potential injury to the German winger. Now, Rodgers has dropped an update on his situation.
Real reason Nicolas Kuhn was dropped by Celtic boss vs Dundee United
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Rodgers told Sky Sports about the situation of Kuhn:
"We have Nicolas Kuhn who had a sore knee and hadn’t trained and he’d been out to give it a go. So just a little bit of pain, so he was obviously injured."
So, it appears that Kuhn is dealing with a fitness issue. But judging from Rodgers' comments, it does not sound like a serious one and one would hope that he is back available as soon as possible.
Celtic are a much better team when Kuhn is playing. The German winger has shown the ability to both score goals and provide assists at an exceptional rate this season. In fact, he found the back of the net against the Rangers in his last outing, in the final of the Scottish League Cup.
Celtic are expected to strengthen their ranks on the wings this January. The fact that Luis Palma did not even start today, with both James Forrest and Kuhn out injured, tells you everything you need to know about his situation.