Injuries force Brendan Rodgers into transfer rethink

Brendan Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits he might have to rethink his transfer plans after being dealt a double injury blow following his side's 1-0 win over Hibernian on Saturday. The Scottish champions claimed their first win against Hibs and former Celtic boss Neil Lennon this season, thanks to a 27th minute goal from Leigh Griffiths. However, the former Hibs striker limped off minutes later with a recurrence of a troublesome calf injury.

Worse was to come on the brink of half-time when a knee injury to goalkeeper Craig Gordon, suffered in a challenge with former Celtic player Efe Ambrose, and the Scotland stopper was unable to return for the second half. That leaves Dutchman Dorus De Vries as Rodgers' only back-up and the Celtic manager said he might recruit another goalkeeper before the January transfer window closes.

"Certainly we might have to look at the goalkeeper situation," admitted Rodgers, whose club has a last 32 Europa League tie with Zenit Saint Petersburg next month. "Both are struggling but Craig's injury looks a bit more serious in terms of his knee. "I sent young Connor Hazard out on loan to get experience as I think he can be a very good keeper in the future for us but he needs to get the games. "So that's probably an area we'll have to look at for sure."

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go