CELTIC will find out today if Emilio Izaguirre and Thomas Rogne will recover from injuries in time to be ready to face Barelona in Wednesday's Champions League game at Parkhead.
James Forrest is almost certainly out of the Group G fixture but Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras should make it despite both missing yesterday's 2-2 draw against Dundee United. Izaguirre and Rogne both started the match at Tannadice but they suffered hamstring and calf problems respectively which led to them both being substituted before half-time.
Manager Neil Lennon had picked Rogne instead of Efe Ambrose and later said United would not have scored their 89th minute and stoppage time goals – through Gary Mackay-Steven and an Ambrose own goal – if the Norwegian had still been on the pitch.
"Thomas went off with a calf strain early in the game," said Lennon. "He's been looking really good in training. I'm pretty sure if he'd been playing at the end of the game those things [United's goals] wouldn't have happened. He is a doubt and Emilio was feeling his hamstring so he will be a doubt as well. We will see how they are tomorrow. Hopefully, Hooper and Samaras will make it."
Lennon was relatively uncritical of his team despite Miku and Tony Watt's goals meaning they were 2-0 up going into the 89th minute and still failed to win. "We let the ball bounce in the box [at the United goals]. We just switched off. We let United get a little bit of a head of steam in the last two or three minutes and they got a lucky break with the second goal.
"It's very frustrating because we were excellent. I thought the level of performance was very high and we didn't get what we deserved, which was the three points.
"But I'm not going to criticise the team. There were some brilliant individual performances. We scored two great goals and I was delighted for Miku. I had a wee chat with him and he knows what's required of him. He's taken that on board. It was a lovely finish and his play in general was very good. He's a good player and brings things to the team that we don't have otherwise.
"I'm annoyed that we haven't seen the game out, but that's football. Is it two points dropped? Yeah, but we didn't get what we deserved."
United manager Peter Houston felt their two late goals, and draw, had been a reward for his commitment to a positive formation. "In the second half I thought we were the better side. I wanted to push on and try to win the match but we lost a poor goal. But they proved their character because they kept going until the final minute.
"Sometimes a result can kickstart your season. If we win our games in hand, albeit they are against Celtic and Motherwell, we will be fourth or third. We have belief in the players here. I would have been disappointed if we had lost the game because I don't think we deserved to lose it."
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