Lennon will not be blown off course by loss of Kayal through injury

Celtic manager Neil Lennon will not reassess his January transfer plans despite potentially losing Beram Kayal for the rest of the season.

The midfielder will undergo surgery on Monday to repair the ankle he damaged during a challenge with Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch.

Celtic will discover the extent of Kayal’s lay-off after the operation but Lennon has revealed the Israel international could be out for four months or more. Lennon, whose side face Peterhead in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup tomorrow and has pledged to treat his lower division opponents with respect, has a number of options in central midfield with Victor Wanyama and Ki Sung-yueng both in good form and Scott Brown back to full fitness following his own ankle injury, but he added: “I’m happy with the squad.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’ve got strength in depth and we have Kris Commons and Glenn Loovens a week away from full training and Mark Wilson, who has made a great recovery, two weeks ago.

“Allied to that, we have [Mikael] Lustig in there who is not far away from being fit.

“We are obviously looking to improve the squad but if we can’t, it won’t be a disaster.”