Celtic’s injury woes deepen

Glasgow giants Celtic could be without five first-team players for the trip to fourth placed Dundee United on Sunday.

The Hoops are definitely without injured trio of goalkeeper Ar-tur Boruc, midfielder Scott Brown and forward Shaun Maloney.

Joining them on the sidelines will be suspended captain Stephen McManus following his dismissal in the Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-final defeat to Hearts last month.

Glenn Loovens is still a major doubt despite having the international break to recover from a groin strain he picked up against Falkirk 10 days ago.

“There is no chance of them [Boruc, Brown and Maloney] being ready for Tannidice,” manager Tony Mowbray told Celtic View.

“They are not ready to train this week, so it’s not a question of rushing them back. They are trying to get fit and are working with the medical staff.

“It’s frustrating because they are all influential players for us, but we have to accept the situation and move on.”

The current situation means that Mowbray will be hoping Aiden McGeady and Georgios Samaras come through their respective World Cup play-off matches with Republic of Ireland and Greece unscathed.

One player who looks set to continue his recent run in the side after recovering from a two-month layoff is striker Marc-Antoine Fortune.

The £3.8million summer signing has used the international break to improve his fitness and is raring to go against Dundee United.

“The staff here at Celtic have really helped me, plus the physios have really taken care of me and have done a good job,” he highlighted.

“I am feeling good and it won’t be long before I am back to normal. It’s a good thing this international break has happened.

“Now I can work and work and be ready for when we come back against Dundee United. We have been able to play in a few games in training. It has been good fun and very useful.

“We were able to work on our tactics and improve our understanding and I really enjoyed it.

“It’s nice to be back. I have been out for two months which is really long and it’s the first time in my career that I have been out that long. So I am really happy to be back.”