St Johnstone have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their clash with Celtic on Wednesday night. The Saints welcome the Hoops on the back of a big 2-1 home win over Hibs, with Josh Fowler scoring both goals.
The win took them up to seventh, representing a solid start to the season, but they will be put to the test by a Celtic side with a 100% record on Wednesday night. The Bhoys continued their dominance over the weekend, beating the next best side going into the game, based on the start of the season, St Mirren.
Celtic have a particularly dangerous front line that looks as though it will be tough to stop, but they have lost in-form Yang Hyun-jun to the Asian Games until after the international break at the end of this month.
St Johnstone have also been dealt a blow, with forward Jamie Gullan picking up a groin injury that has troubled him in the past.
“Jamie felt something from the first minute,” Saints boss Simo Valakari said, as reported by The Courier. "We’ll need to see but he is a fast healer.
“Maybe Wednesday will come too soon for him but I’m hopeful about our home match (Falkirk) after that.”
The positive for St Johnstone is that new signing Joel Cotterill has impressed off the bench, and he could now be in line to start against the Hoops.
“He has quick feet and agility," Valakari added. "He intercepted balls from our opponent and was press-resistant for us in tight moments. I was very pleased with his performance.”
The Saints know they are going to have to be at their best against Celtic, but it may be a good time to play them, given Martin O'Neill's men are in the midst of a relentless schedule that will not let up until the international break towards the end of this month.
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