BRENDAN RODGERS, the Celtic manager, faces a headache over the centre of his defence for the next round of Champions League qualifying after Jozo Simunovic was sent off against Alashkert last night and misses the next match.
The centre-half was given a red card in the first half with the Scottish champions already a goal to the good on the night and four goals up on aggregate.
A reckless high foot on Jefferson Reis De Jesus means that Simunovic will sit out the first leg of Celtic’s second Champions League qualifying round tie against Rosenborg next week, after the Norwegians saw off Valur Reykjavik 3-2 on aggregate thanks to an injury-time penalty.
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With Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig unavailable after their exertions at the World Cup, Marvin Compper likely to be out injured, and Nir Bitton – who has filled in at centre-back previously – out until September, it leaves Rodgers in a quandary over who to select in his defence for next week’s tie against the Norwegian champions.
“It gives us a problem but that’s all it’s been for us,” said Rodgers.
“Every pre-season there is always an issue with centre-halfs. Marvin has a problem with his abductor, so we’ll see how that is, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll be available.
“With Boyata, I don’t know – I’ll need to asses that over the next few days.
“With Mika, it’s a possibility but we have to respect he’s been at the World Cup and played a long season, when he comes back he won’t be fit and it’ll take a couple of weeks to get up to speed.”
Meanwhile, Celtic also face a sweat on the fitness of striker Moussa Dembele, who hit the opening two goals on the night before hobbling off in the second half.
“Moussa was tight at the back of his leg, so we just have to assess that tomorrow and over the next couple of days,” said Rodgers.
“He’s as fit as he has been at this stage of the season, so we are hoping it is just a tightness and that he’ll be okay.”
Despite the issues over Simunovic and Dembele, Rodgers was pleased with the professional display put on by his men, particularly after they were reduced to 10.
“It was very good,” he said. “When we had 11 men, our movement and the speed of our game was good and looked a real threat. We took the lead and very soon after that lost a man.
“But over the course of the game, the defensive organisation was good. We were very calm and organised, we pressed at the right moments. We dominated the game, considering we had 10 men. So, I’m really proud of the team.
“We had the advantage coming into the game and strengthened that at the beginning. It’s still a challenge to play for that long with 10 men. The players coped with that very well.”
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