Scott Brown’s irritation at his booking at Rugby Park this weekend will grow after confirmation that the player will now miss Celtic’s next league game.

Brown will add to Celtic’s personnel problems, although with almost a fortnight before the Parkhead side are back in league action, Brendan Rodgers will look to have a few players fit and back in the starting XI.

The Hoops midfielder was irked that the yellow card at Rugby Park was given at all, believing that Hearts manager Craig Levein’s comments in the aftermath of Celtic’s win last week made him a marked man.

Levein had claimed that “all of Scottish football needed protection” from Brown, a comment offered in the aftermath of a challenge that left Tynecastle kid Harry Cochrane injured.

That left Brown irked at the weekend, claiming that Kevin Clancy booked him for his first foul in the game.

With a glut of Celtic players currently out injured, the news that Brown will miss the league game against St Johnstone on Sunday, 18th February will be another irritation to Rodgers..

The Celtic captain will be eligible for this weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup tie against Partick Thistle, a game that is followed by the Europa League first-leg clash against Zenit St Petersburg.

However, he will sit out the league encounter the following Sunday as the Hoops host Tommy Wright’s side.

Anthony Ralston gave Rodgers’ side a boost yesterday when he played for the club’s development side. It was the player’s first appearance since undergoing surgery in September.