NEIL Lennon has revealed that Arsenal's interest in Celtic left back Kieran Tierney has gone quiet ahead of the close of the English transfer window on Thursday evening.
And the Parkhead manager has expressed hope that Tierney, who has been recovering from a double hernia operation and a pubic issue, could return to training at Lennoxtown next week and be fit to play again in a fortnight.
Lennon, whose side take on CFR Cluj in the third round of Champions League qualifying in Romania tomorrow evening, rubbished claims the defender was set to be sidelined for another two months.
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Celtic paired with Slavia Prague in Champions League play-off round“He’ll be fit in a week or two,” he said. “He still has some abductor pain, but I think the pubic issue is starting to settle and he’s over the double hernia as well.
"I know there is talk of him being out for another eight weeks, but that’s nonsense. I don’t know where that’s come from because that’s certainly not the case at all.
“He’s missed the whole of pre-season, but I’d say he’s more or less a week away from getting back on the grass and getting back integrated to the training. You can add maybe another week or ten days on top of that before he’s ready to play."
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James Forrest asks Celtic to deal him again in as he bids to become a one-club manArsenal's two bids for Tierney have both been rejected by Celtic as they have fallen short of the treble treble winners' £25 million valuation of the 22-year-old.
Lennon admitted he had expected the London club, who splashed out £72 million on Lille winger Nicolas Pepe last week, to return to the negotiating table.
But he refused to rule out the Premier League giants, or another top flight club down south, coming in for the player between now on 5pm on Thursday when the transfer window down south closes.
“It’s all gone a bit quiet at the minute which is surprising for me," he said. "It (the move to Arsenal) may or may not happen now. Listen, I know these deals can get done at a minute to 12 – it could get done on the afternoon or later in the evening.
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Scott Brown delighted to see Celtic become a goal-scoring machine again“I’d be surprised if there wasn’t another offer for Kieran but delighted too. If we keep Kieran then it’s brilliant because we’ll be keeping a top quality player.
"It’ll just be a case of getting him back on the pitch doing what he does best. We’re already doing some great things without him, so when he adds to what we have already got we’ll be even better.”
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