Celtic facing another injury sweat as key player suffers setback on international duty

Celtic are facing another injury sweat with the news that midfielder Liel Abada has been released from international duty after pulling up in training.

The 21-year-old travelled out to join up with the Israel squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Romania on Saturday and Belarus on Tuesday. However, his hopes of adding to his 10 caps for his country have been dashed after suffering a setback in training with Israel head coach Alon Hazan confirming: "He felt a pinch in his muscle."

Abada will now fly back to Scotland for a scan and to be assessed by the Celtic medical team.

It would be a major blow for Celtic if they were to lose another player to an already lengthy injury list that includes centre-backs Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh, midfielder Reo Hatate as well as wingers Marco Tilio and Mickey Johnston.

Celtic winger Liel Abada has picked up an injury while training with Israel. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Abada could now face a race to fit for Celtic’s upcoming fixtures as they return to domestic action with a home league fixture against Dundee next Saturday before travelling to Feyenoord in their opening Champions League match three days later.

The forward signed a new four-year deal with the Scottish champions during the transfer window amid interest from clubs across Europe with Celtic reportedly turning down a £7m from Sporting Lisbon. He has scored 29 goals and registered 21 assists in 106 appearances for Celtic since joining from Maccabi Petah Tikva for a reported £3.5m fee in 2021.