BRENDAN Rodgers believes he will have “the most influential player in Scotland” at his disposal when Celtic face Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow after an SFA disciplinary tribunal yesterday cleared Scott Brown to play.
The tribunal upheld the Parkhead club’s appeal against the red card their captain Brown had received for a foul on Liam Boyce of Ross County in a Ladbrokes Premiership match in Dingwall earlier this month.
The Scottish champions had been criticised for challenging the decision by referee Don Robertson because it ensured their midfielder was available for the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday.
The fact the SFA offices were closed for the Easter holidays meant they could only appeal against the match official’s decision on Tuesday of last week and the tribunal only convened to consider the case yesterday.
Brown performed superbly in that last four fixture against Rangers at the weekend and helped Rodgers’s side to win 2-0 and progress to the final against Aberdeen next month.
However, the disciplinary tribunal decided to reduce the red card for the challenge on Boyce, which had provoked a furious reaction from incensed County players, to a yellow card yesterday.
The 31-year-old has received a two match ban as a result of his latest caution, his 12th of the 2016/17 campaign, and will miss the league games against St. Johnstone at Celtic Park a week tomorrow and Aberdeen at Pittodrie the following Friday.
But Rodgers, whose side sewed up their sixth consecutive Scottish title at the start of this month, intends to rest key players like Brown following the sixth and final meeting of the season with Rangers tomorrow afternoon.
The Irishman, whose charges have gone 41 games undefeated domestically this term are on the brink of securing what would only be Celtic’s fourth treble in their 129 year history, was pleased with the decision and is delighted that he will have Brown at his disposal in this outing.
“We had players who could have come in,” he said. “But there is no doubt that Scott Brown is the most influential player in Scotland, there are no bones about that. I have been hugely impressed by him, by how he has performed.
“We have had a few games without him this year and the team has done well. But let’s not get away from it, you saw how he performed last weekend. He was tactically brilliant, how he operated in the spaces and filled gaps. He pressed the game and then showed his quality.
"As I’ve said before, I came up here and people have talked about his passing ability. He made two disguised passes through the eye of a needle and you don’t do that unless you have top quality. So he is a player who of course you miss.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers has confirmed that Celtic medical staff will monitor the progress of Moussa Dembele, who picked up a hamstring injury in the win over Rangers on Sunday, ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen on Saturday, May 27.
Dembele, the Glasgow club’s top scorer this season with 32 goals in all competitions, is a major doubt for his club ahead of the meeting with the second-placed side in the Premiership.
“We’re just going to assess that over the next two or three weeks and see how he is,” said Rodgers. “He was on the bike cycling today. It’s a hamstring strain and some players come back quicker than others. We’ll see how it goes.
“It would only ever be calculated. It would have to work for us all. If we thought there was a huge risk in it then of course you are only talking six or seven weeks before the first qualifier. So we’ll assess it and always make the right judgement for the player.”
Elsewhere, Rodgers revealed he will hold talks with Manchester City and the FA over whether Patrick Roberts can play for Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
Roberts, who is on loan from City, could be called up by England for the Under-20 World Cup next month. But FIFA have confirmed that Celtic would be within their rights to refuse to release him.
“I think between Manchester City, ourselves and England we’ll find the solution for him,” he said. “The kid’s playing, he loves it here, but at the same time I respect he’s been involved in a campaign with England. He’s happy either way. He loves being here, he wants to be here but he’s not our player. We have to speak on it.”
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