Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will not put a delay on captain Callum McGregor’s return to action after a serious facial injury.
The 28-year-old was injured in an aerial clash in Saturday’s 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Alloa Athletic.
Celtic take on Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday night live on Sky Sports ahead of home games against Dundee United and Old Firm rivals Rangers as the second half of the season begins to heat up.
Postecoglou, who confirmed midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi will be out longer than short-term after suffering a ‘significant’ ankle injury against the Scottish League One side, would only focus on the McGregor’s recovery and not the length of the absence.
He said: “I don’t set deadlines, I’m not in the medical profession.
“It confuses me sometimes when people start talking about games and who is going to be available for certain games.
“Right now, all we care about is Callum McGregor the person.
“It’s not just about football, he’s suffered a major injury. We just want to make sure he recovers and feels good.
“Callum is the type of character who will be looking forward to coming back, but above all we are looking after the health of the person and making sure they are recovering well and in terms of when he will return to training or the game will be guided by professional doctor.
The Scotland international won’t be rushed to return to action
“I said yesterday he was feeling better but that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious injury.
“It wasn’t just a concussion, he obviously suffered a serious facial injury.
“We will give him the time he needs to recover and be guided by medical professionals on this and by Callum himself.
“At the moment we are supporting him in his recovery and hopefully he will get back to the setup here soon.”
Liel Abada is available to face Hearts
Striker Liel Abada also limped off injured against Alloa but should be fit for the trip to Tynecastle.
Postecoglou was far from impressed with Mouhamed Niang’s tackle on Ideguchi which earned the Alloa man a yellow card from referee Don Robertson.
Niang was hit with a retrospective accusation of gross misconduct by the Scottish Football Association on Tuesday, with a hearing set for Thursday.
Alloa’s Mouhamed Niang faces retrospective punishment for his challenge against Celtic’s Yosuke Ideguchi.
Postecoglou said: “Since I started managing 25 years ago, there have always been small changes in the rules, but a constant theme is that they always show us tackles that are deemed dangerous or reckless and they will always be punished because it’s a big part of player protection.
“This year has been no different and if you show footage of that tackle, that was exactly the vision we’re shown, knowing that it’s going to be handled by the referee.
“I’ll be honest, I told some of the guys towards the end of the game not to bother to tackle and take care of them because I didn’t want any more injuries.
“I just didn’t feel like there was control over that environment.
“Sometimes players are just reckless, but that doesn’t mean it’s excusable.
“We had one player who was seriously injured, there are a few others who were lucky to escape that and that’s why I was disappointed with how the evening went. “
