‘We will see how they go’ - Ange Postecoglou issues injury update on Celtic quartet amid Rangers semi-final fears

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Celtic’s injured quartet of Jota, Liel Abada, Reo Hatate and James Forrest will NOT feature in today’s Premiership clash with Motherwell - admitting he faces a nervous wait to discover if they will be available for next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

All four players remain serious fitness doubts for the Hampden showdown against Rangers on April 30, but centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers will return to the starting XI and will be available to face Michael Beale’s side if he comes through today’s match unscathed.

Carter-Vickers and Portuguese winger Jota sat out of last weekend’s 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, while Hatate, Abada and Forrest have been out of action since the international break.

Postecoglou revealed they have all been involved in training in recent days but is unsure if they will be fit enough to feature next weekend as Celtic aim to keep their Treble dreams alive.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Postecoglou said: “Jota, Reo, James and Liel haven’t had a full week of training and won’t feature. They are close but we will wait for them to get more training in before putting them back in. They are all back training now and we will see how they go after the weekend.”

On Carter-Vickers, the Hoops boss added: “He’s fine. He trained last week, he trained all this week and he will play against Motherwell. The only reason he didn’t play at Kilmarnock was the pitch, which I had mentioned. He didn’t recover too well the last time we played on the artifical surface, so we left him out.

“But he’s been training and will play. That’s where it begins and ends. I can’t predict the future. If he gets through tomorrow he’ll play next week. That’s how it is.”

Postecoglou believes he has learned from past mistakes as he continues to ease last season’s J-League Player of the Year Tomoki Iwata into the starting eleven. The former Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder has a bright future ahead of him, but has been limited to bit-part cameo appearances since arriving in January.

Postecoglou faced a similar scenario last year when he opted to throw Reo Hatate straight into the team on the back of playing a full season for Kawasaki Frontale. He doesn’t want a repeat of the burnout the utility man experienced towards the tail end of last term.

“I’ve been a bit, probably cautious about how much game time I’m giving him because I remember last year overloading the guys who have just come off an Asian full season,” the Australian stated.

“It can be to their detriment but easing him in means he’ll finish strong and whatever games we’ve got left he’ll be at his best which is great. Then he can do a pre-season with us and be ready for next year but I’m really pleased with him. I’m also probably the least surprised about how he’s going because I knew what I was getting before he came.”