SADNEWS:Celtic star not in ‘right frame of mind’ to play…
Celtic star not in ‘right frame of mind’ to play as teammate could face four weeks out injured.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed Liel Abada wasn’t in the ‘right’ frame of mind to play after he missed the Scottish Cup clash with St Mirren.
The winger came off the bench away at Hibs last week in a dramatic 2-1 Premiership win. He wasn’t named in the squad to face the Buddies in Paisley, as Kyogo and Daizen Maeda goals sealed a 2-0 win and progression to the next round. They will face Livingston at home in the quarter-final.
Rodgers addressed Abada’s Celtic absence after the game in his post-match verdict. He confirmed that he was not in the right place to be involved and has a chat booked with the forward.
The boss said: “He wasn’t in a right frame of mind. I’ve spoke a lot to Liel and it has been a challenging time for him. I just felt when he came into the game the other night, it just wasn’t him.
“So we gave him this chance to have a few days and clear his mind. I’ll have a chat with him again next week, see where he’s at.”
Rodgers has also provided an update on Alistair Johnston. The defender was stretchered off in the Hibs game with a head injury and has since been diagnosed with a slight fracture. Rodgers isn’t too sure how long that might keep the Canadian right-back out the game for.
He added: “We’re just waiting to see again on him. The thinking is we’ll have a look in 10 days to see where he’s at. But it could be 10 days to four weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see.”