After a strong start to the season, Celtic is well into the international break, with several of its best players playing for their different countries.
Tonight, Scotland will play Poland. Earlier in the week, Steve Clarke named Greg Taylor, Anthony Ralston, and James Forrest in his team for their Nations League matches against Portugal and Poland.
Callum McGregor, who retired from international service, is content with his life now that he is not responsible for playing for his nation in the engine room. But early this week, word leaked out that Taylor and Forrest had withdrawn; nevertheless, there was no concrete reason given for their exclusion from consideration.
Now that both players participated in Celtic’s victory over Rangers in the Glasgow Derby last weekend, Clarke has moved to clarify the choice.
Steve Clarke on Greg Taylor and James Forrest
Per The Scotsman, Clarke has explained that the decision was taken after Scotland medics assessed both players and they revealed that the pair were carrying knocks, though he insisted there are ‘no dramas’ to be worried about on that front.
He stated: “By the same token, the two boys from Celtic who played at the weekend came in on Sunday night, got assessed by our medics and were sent home. It’s easy because they’re in Glasgow. So no big drama on that one.”
Ultimately, niggles can be fairly commonplace heading into the international break, and it is sometimes best to give players a little rest before they are thrust back into the rigours of club duty.
Although neither Forrest nor Taylor appeared to be experiencing any pain during the Rangers game last weekend, it would be wise to have any issues addressed before Celtic’s hectic schedule of games begins.
Hopefully, Brendan Rodgers has only implemented this precautionary measure in order to allow both players to return to their crucial roles during the Nations League games.
Read more on
sportchannel.co.uk
Leave a Reply