Celtic missing five players for Hibs clash as James Forrest a doubt for Valencia test

Forwards James Forrest and Odsonne Edouard, midfielder Ryan Christie, and full-back Mikael Lustig will miss Hibs’ visit to Celtic Park tomorrow after sustaining injuries during Sunday’s 2-0 win against St Johnstone in Perth.

Centre-back Kristoffer Ajer will also miss that match after being ordered off during the final minutes at McDiarmid Park while Scotland winger Forrest could also join left-back Kieran Tierney, a long-term absentee, in missing next week’s Europa League tie at home to Valencia.

“James is having a scan on his hamstring, so I’d be very surprised if he’s available on Wednesday; we’re not sure yet about the severity of it,” said assistant-manager Chris Davies.

“It’s really difficult to tell but he used his experience to identify straight away that he had an issue and immediately spoke to the manager and the physio.

“That showed maturity because the instinct is often to carry and on and try to run it off, which can make things significantly worse but he came off so, hopefully, that won’t have exacerbated it.

“When someone has James’ pace, that injury is always a possibility and you look at the speed he showed to get his goal – he made up 12 yards on his man in no time at all; he was really rapid – he was at full speed and stretching as well.

“Odsonne had a bad knock on his foot and he’s a big doubt - the physios are looking at x-rays if need be. We’re hoping he can improve day by day. Mikael is doubtful with an Achilles problem.

“Ryan also took a bad blow to his hip so it’s about monitoring and assessing him; we’ll see how he is and make a call on him in the next 24-48 hours.”

On a more positive note, Belgium defender Dedryck Boyata has recovered from a groin problem and should be involved tomorrow.