Moussa Dembele and Dedryck Boyata could be back this week for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers looks to get them match fit ahead of Celtic’s UEFA Champions League game against Anderlecht.

Striker Dembele is expected to be in the squad for Saturday’s visit of Ross County, his first game since suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury at the end of July.

If Boyata doesn’t make it for the visit of the Highlanders then he is expected to feature at some stage against Dundee on Wednesday night in the League Cup, with exposure to first-team action giving them the chance to work on their match fitness ahead of Celtic’s game in Brussels.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers fears stadium closure as Celtic are back in the UEFA dock

“They are going to be fit for that,” confirmed Rodgers. “Moussa will be in the squad for the game on Saturday. Dedryck we will see in the next 24 hours. If he’s not, it could be Dundee. It will be great to have those two available.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers has maintained that the belief of his squad will not be punctured by the harrowing experience against Paris-Saint Germain on Tuesday evening.

While there is an inevitable process to go through on the back of such a result, Rodgers has maintained that he will protect his players from any criticism that may filter through.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers' aim is to see Celtic compete and not just celebrate being in the Champions League​

“It won’t do that with the team,” he said. “Maybe there is some background noise around it will try to affect it but that’s my job, to shape that mentality and take the lead with the players. They were bright today and back on it. Games like that the other night are very humbling experiences against that level of team and that quality.

“But you strive, then, to be the best that you can and I think we’ve shown on a number of occasions that that’s the mentality we have. If it is to improve we know we have to keep getting better.”

Meanwhile, Callum McGregor became the latest player to pledge his long-term future to Celtic yesterday afternoon. The midfielder signed a new four-year deal with the club, following in the footsteps of Scott Brown, Jozo Simunovic and Stuart Armstrong who have all signed extensions recently.

Read more: Celtic's Calvin Miller dreams of rubbing shoulders with world's best like pal Tony Ralston

And Rodgers expects that there are more to come.

“The club has been working behind the scenes and that's great,” he said.

“Callum has been a brilliant young player for us and I’m really happy for him. He loves being at Celtic and he’s made a real contribution in the last 12 months.

“Young players coming through are judged harsher and he was outstanding in that game. In the semi final against Rangers he showed great composure to score and he was fantastic in that game.

“Dedryck has a year or so to go and there are one or two others. It’s nice that so many players see this as a place they can develop and be successful.

“It’s nice to have them all on board for the journey.”