Celtic’s next Premiership fixture is against Hearts.
Martin O’Neill will lead the Hoops in Scottish Cup and Europa League action beforehand, but before we know it, we will be watching a top-of-the-table clash again.
The two beforehand were… not enjoyable, with both Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy falling to defeat against the surprise league-leaders.
This will be O’Neill’s first face-off with Derek McInnes, however. The interim Celtic boss has said that he is targeting more signings before the clash at Tynecastle.
But we now know that Hearts will be without one of their best performers of the season, for the Celtic game and beyond.
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Hearts injury blow for Celtic clash
It has now been confirmed that Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is set to miss six to eight weeks of action with an ankle injury.
The Australian international is far from everyone’s cup of tea, but his importance for McInnes’ side is undeniable.
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Until he was withdrawn at the end of Hearts’ win over St Mirren on Wednesday, Devlin had played every available minute of league football this season.
He also looks likely to miss Hearts’ Edinburgh Derby and trip to Ibrox in February. Far from ideal timing for them.
But for the Celtic clash, the injury decimates the Jambos’ midfield, which will also be without Beni Baningime after his red card against St Mirren.
Reported record signing Ageu has not featured in a matchday squad for Hearts since November, in a further fitness headache for the Edinburgh side.
McInnes faces a call between Craig Gordon and Alexander Scholow for the encounter. The latter has been first-choice all season, but when thrown in at the deep end last weekend, Gordon produced one of the saves of his career.
Celtic will be hoping to introduce some people to the squad – be that through injury returns or January signings – ahead of the crucial game next Sunday.
Will we hunt Hearts down and win the title?
Derek McInnes on Hearts vs Celtic
Speaking about the game next weekend, McInnes claimed that his side were the ‘underdog’ for the encounter, despite having the opportunity to move nine points ahead of Celtic.
He said: “The fans got behind the team. It’ll be even better against Celtic because we are the underdog. There’s no two ways about it.
“By the time we play Celtic, we’ll have been at the top of the league for four months. We’re comfortable where we are.
“We’ve got work to do. I believe we can win games. With the help of the fans, they’ve got a part to play.”
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