McManus and Hartley questionable for Ibrox Trip

Gordon Strachan has said he does not know if captain Stephen McManus and midfielder Paul Hartley will be available for next Saturday’s trip to Ibrox to take on Rangers. McManus was not in the squad this past weekend for Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Falkirk after picking up an injury Friday in training to his knee. McManus will have a MRI on his knee today and more will be known tomorrow on his status. Paul Hartley missed Sunday’s match after coming down with a virus. Strachan had this to say of his pirate-like midfielder,”It took Lee Naylor 10 days to get over it, but Paul is a hardy soul and he’ll be desperate to make the Rangers match.” With these injuries added to the already hardy list of injured for Celtic, Darren O’Dea and Glen Loovens were paired together in the back, while Gary Caldwell moved up to play in the central midfield and Koki Mizuno made his first start of his Celtic career. Mizuno was impressive in his debut, but Strachan, never one to build a couple of good performances in a row, hinted that Mizuno might find himself on the bench Saturday, saying “Kouki gave us good width and pace, and he gave us a goal, but the Old Firm game is totally different.”

Category: Celtic, In the Press

Tags: Celtic, Darren ODea, Glen Loovens, Gordon Strachan, In the Press, Injuries, Koki Mizuno, Paul Hartley, Rangers, Stephen McManus

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