Brendan Rodgers says Celtic can deal with lengthy casualty list

Odsonne Edouard was one of three Celtic players who picked up knocks. Picture: SNS.

The Scottish champions’ 2-0 win at St Johnstone, which restored a six-point lead at the top of the Premiership table, came at a cost as Mikael Lustig, Odsonne Edouard and James Forrest were all forced out of the action by knocks.

Forrest’s hamstring injury is causing manager Rodgers the greatest concern and could potentially sideline the winger for several weeks. French striker Edouard, pictured, suffered a painful foot injury which caused him to be led away on a stretcher, while right-back Lustig has an achilles problem.

Celtic are already without defender Filip Benkovic and midfielder Tom Rogic for up to six weeks with ankle and knee injuries respectively, while Kieran Tierney, Dedryck Boyata and Olivier Ntcham are all currently out of action.

In addition to their  quest for an eighth successive title, which continues at home to Hibernian on Wednesday night, Celtic’s defence of the Scottish Cup sees them face

St Johnstone again next Sunday before the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie against Valencia the following Thursday in a hectic period.

“Listen, we’ll make do,” said Rodgers. “We have some outstanding players who can play in those positions.

“We added to the squad in January, which we needed to do, and we’ll get some other players back soon hopefully. We will assess it on Monday and see where we’re at.

“Mikael had an issue with his achilles which got worse as the first half wore on. Odsonne got an impact injury on the front of his foot. The lad [Joe] Shaughnessy was stretching and accidentally caught him. He’s in a bit of pain but hopefully he’ll be okay. James is more of a worry as he felt his hamstring a bit tight.”

Rodgers will definitely be without Kristoffer Ajer against Hibs after the Norwegian defender was sent off in stoppage time for a foul on Callum Hendry, earning an automatic one-match suspension.

“These things happen,” said Rodgers. “It’s unfortunate. He [Ajer] had nowhere to go with the pass and the boy has pressed him and he’s taken him down. I wasn’t sure initially if it was a red card but having seen it again, it was fair enough.”

Rodgers was more than satisfied with Celtic’s display as late goals from Forrest and substitute Timothy Weah secured the points on a day which saw deadline day loan signing Jeremy Toljan make an impressive debut as a half-time replacement for Lustig.

“We had everything thrown at us today, in terms of injuries and what-not,” added Rodgers. “But the game went how we thought it would go. It was a really good demonstration of our persistence and quality in the game, to play so well against a team that are very difficult to play against.

“Weah was absolutely brilliant. He’s just 18 and he’s loving every minute of his life here. He’s here for a purpose and his purpose is to learn and develop and get some games in his legs and make the impact that he has been making. With Jeremy, you can see what he is – he’s calm, composed. He’s a modern day full-back. He is athletic and serves the ball well.”

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright was left frustrated at his side’s failure to take good chances they created for Matty Kennedy and Tony Watt in the first half. “I asked for an improved performance after losing at Celtic Park and I got that,” said Wright. “There are more positives for us today but it’s still another defeat.”