THE prospect of your side playing an important European fixture without one of your two first team strikers available is alarming enough. But doing so without both of them? It could lead to a lesser manager suffering from heart palpitations.

Fortunately for Celtic, who could take to the field against Rosenborg in the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round at Parkhead this evening without Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths they have the unflappable Brendan Rodgers in charge.

Rodgers would, of course, dearly like to have Griffiths, who is suspended, and Dembele, a serious injury doubt, at his disposal for the visit of the Norwegians.

Yet, the Scottish champions were in an identical position before last season and the Northern Irishman coped, as their unbeaten domestic record and impressive haul of trophies testifies, with the situation admirably and innovatively.

He is in no doubt Celtic will be able do so once again and indicated that Tom Rogic could be deployed up front as a “false nine” should Dembele fail to pass a late fitness test this afternoon.

“We could be going into the game without our two main strikers,” he said. “It happens and it has happened. So we have to find a way. But we have done that a number of times last year. Tactically, we look at the team and how can you find a way to play and then quickly pull together a strategy and a plan that can get you a result.

“We will look at where Moussa’s at? If it’s a big risk – and that decision might be taken out of my hands totally because if he’s out then he’s out – I have to prepare for that.

“Of course these are big games for us, but if it’s too much of a risk then, no, I wouldn’t do it (put in Dembele if he isn’t fully fit). If guys are feeling something or there is something there then you have to listen to them.”

Rodgers played Patrick Roberts, Rogic and Scott Sinclair up front in the absence of Dembele and Griffiths with varying degrees of success last season. With Roberts having departed and Sinclair posing more of a threat in his favoured position out wide the likelihood is that he will opt for Rogic if Dembele is unavailable.

“I did a number of things,” he said. “I played Scotty up front. It didn’t work so I had to change it. I played Pat up there, who was brilliant. In the Partick game (at Firhill in May) for the last half hour I played Tom up there. So we’ll see.”

Rodgers, underlining that he very much has a glass-half-full outlook on life, actually feels that fielding a false nine could cause Rosenborg, who have a proud European record and will provide a far sterner test than Linfield, serious problems.

“It’s very, very difficult to play against,” he said. “I’ve done it wherever I’ve been. That floating player forces the centre-half to come in or come out. What you need is pace in behind him. It can gain you superiority in an important area of the field. So, of course it works.

“We didn’t have a striker at Hearts (in a league game in April) and we scored five. That’s what you need, multiple goalscorers. We have enough goalscorers in there. Just because it’s not a traditional goalscorer doesn’t mean you can’t score.”

Celtic will bank over £30 million should they overcome Rosenborg, win the subsequent play-off and progress to the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition for the second season running.

So would Rodgers, who admitted he is keen to make one more signing before the summer transfer window closes at the end of next month, like to add another forward to his pool of players to avoid this scenario arising in future?

The former Swansea City and Liverpool manager stressed he is quite content to proceed with what he has.

“You have to be careful in the make-up of your squad,” he said. “If you have got two highly-strung strikers who are fighting for a position and then you add a third one to the mix it can actually work against you.”

Dembele has been linked with a £20 million move to Marseille in his native France in recent days. But Rodgers stressed that no contact has been made about the player.

“It’s the time of year, isn’t it?” he said. “There is lots of speculation about him and others. It’s just the background noise. I counted the other day that 10 clubs were in for him.”

Kare Ingebrigtsen is set to field the hugely experienced Niclas Bendtner, who counts Arsenal, Sunderland, Juventus and Wolfsburg among his former clubs, in attack for Rosenborg. Rodgers is anticipating a testing evening.

“I think they will be pretty structured, be very organised, have good quality,” he said. “They will be together as a team and they will be fit because of the time of the season. Bentdner is 6ft 4in and has good feet. He can play well.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers paid tribute to Emilio Izaguirre, the Honduran left back who has signed for Al Faya in Saudi Arabia in a £1.75 million deal, and stressed he would look to Tony Ralston, Calvin Miller and even Jonny Hayes to provide back-up for Kieran Tierney going forward.

“Emilio was offered the chance of a lifetime financially,” he said. “He’s been a great servant to the club.”