Celtic reaction: Double injury scare, incoming transfers, status of Matt O'Riley and Mikey Johnston

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has alleviated injury concerns over two key players following the 4-1 friendly win over Chelsea in Indiana on Saturday night.

The Scottish champions produced an impressive performance against a strong Blues side at the Notre Dame Stadium with goals from Matt O'Riley, Kyogo Furuhashi, Luis Palma and Mikey Johnston making it three wins out of three on the club's US tour following previous victories over DC United and Manchester City.

With their pre-season schedule now complete, Celtic appear to be in fine fettle ahead of their Premiership curtain-raiser at home to Kilmarnock next Sunday, particularly after it was confirmed that both Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda are expected to be available.

Celtic players celebrate Kyogo Furuhashi's opener against Chelsea at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on July 27, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Kuhn, who scored a double in the 4-3 win over City on Wednesday, sat out the Chelsea match after picking up a back strain in training while Maeda was forced off in the first-half with a knee knock, but neither are giving the Celtic boss any major cause for concern.

"Nicolas was stretching in training and felt a sore back. He probably needs a few days," Rodgers said. “Daizen was just a clash of knees and there’s no need to risk anything at this stage of the season. Hopefully he’ll be okay when we get back.”

The Celtic side that has completed pre-season has carried a familiar look with goalkeepers Kasper Scheichel and Viljami Sinisalo the only new arrivals of the summer thus far. However, Rodgers has not ruled out the prospect of new outfield additions arriving before the league opener in seven days time.

“I hope so," the Northern Irishman said over the prospect of signing new faces before the Killie game. “You want to have them in as soon as you possibly can. The current group are working very hard in their own right and we’ll improve the squad over the course of the window.”

The future of star man O'Riley remains a hot topic with Atlanta reportedly having a third bid for the Denmark midfielder rejected while Southampton are also said to have had an offer knocked back.

“There’s been no change I am aware of," Rodgers updated. "He knows he’s at a massive club. There’s been no change in his attitude or his quality and you can see that in the games.”

It remains to be seen whether winger Johnston will remain at Celtic beyond the transfer window with the Republic of Ireland international a target for clubs in the English Championship following a successful loan spell at West Brom in the second half of last season.

"It was just about Mikey coming back and getting himself fit," Rodgers explained. "Mikey is 25 now and he probably wants to play.

“We’ll just wait and see. There have been no real discussions yet, it’s just about getting back fit and seeing where it takes us.”

A late penalty deprived Celtic of a clean sheet against Chelsea but that took little away from Rodgers’ feeling of satisfaction over how his team’s preparations have gone ahead of the new season starting.

“We still have another good week’s work before we arrive into there but this preparation phase over the last 12 days has gone as well as it possibly could have done,” he said.

“Players looking sharp, looking fit, looking intense, and then the quality of the football to score the goals. We have scored 12 goals in three games and two of those against really high-quality opponents.

“So we are in a really good place. Now, get back safely and prepare for flag day.”