Ajax Cape Town '˜troll Celtic' as Rivaldo Coetzee agrees transfer

South Africa defender Rivaldo Coetzee failed a medical ahead of a proposed move to Celtic - but then joined a new club days later. Picture: Getty Images

Coetzee had been on Celtic’s radar as they looked to bolster their defensive options.

But after a transfer was agreed, the 20-year-old South African failed a medical after Celtic physio Tim Williamson ‘discovered an underlying problem with his right foot’ during the examination in Johannesburg.

Celtic cancelled the deal but the result of the medical appeared to come as a surprise to Ajax Cape Town.

A statement released on their website read: “The injury has not hampered Coetzee to date, having not missed out on any competitive action either for his club or the national team.

“Ajax Cape Town can confirm that they were not aware of any condition that would have potentially hampered a transfer to Celtic.

“While disappointed that the deal could not be completed at this point, the club are fully committed to giving the player the care and attention required in order to make a full recovery.”

But just days after the failed medical, Coetzee moved to Mamelodi Sundowns for a reported fee of around £600,000 plus Mario Booysens.

It appears that Coetzee’s injury wasn’t as serious as first feared, with two orthopaedic surgeons predicting the South African international would only miss ‘between 6-8 weeks of action’.

Ajax Cape Town released a further statement saying: “Coetzee visited two orthopedic surgeons that specialize in foot and ankle injuries this week, and following further investigation the medical specialists found that contrary to reports, his suspected foot injury wasn’t as serious as initially reported.

“Specialists came to the conclusion that – if managed properly – Rivaldo will only miss between 6-8 weeks of action.

“Ajax Cape Town are disappointed that Coetzee’s dream move to Europe failed to come to fruition, but we are confident that he will soon find himself plying his trade in the biggest leagues in world football.”

But the Urban Warriors took to Twitter with a gif of a confused-looking young girl with the caption ‘Glasgow Celtic fans right now’, in what could only be a reference to Coetzee failing a medical only to agree a transfer days later.

One Celtic fan reacted by saying: “I’ll trust the Celtic medical team thanks,” while another added: “Aye gees a player whose broke his foot sound.”