MOUSSA MISSING Injury keeps Dembele out of final
The Celtic striker’s fantastic first season at Parkhead is over after he sustained a hamstring injury in the semi-final victory over Rangers last weekend.
Dembele limped out of the Hampden showpiece and was sent for scans by club chiefs on Monday.
The results came through last night and the hitman has been told the lay-off period is around five weeks.
With the final against
Aberdeen on May 27, there appears no chance of the attacker making it on time for the clash against the Reds and the bid for the Treble.
Dembele has 32 goals this season but will now be on the sidelines until the start of pre-season and the Champions League qualifiers in June.
Leigh Griffiths will spearhead the club’s charge for a historic unbeaten treble-winning season.
Celtic have six games left, including Saturday’s visit to Ibrox to face the wounded Rangers team they so comprehensively outplayed in last weekend’s cup semi. They then face St Johnstone, Aberdeen, Partick Thistle, and Hearts before the Hampden showpiece.
Last season’s top scorer Griffiths (inset) will be asked to lead the line until the end of the campaign after a stopstart season which has seen him plagued by niggling injuries. Despite the knocks, Griffiths has made 36 appearances and scored 14 goals.
Meanwhile, Mikael Lustig has been an Invincible before with Rosenborg. But the Swedish star reckons doing it again at Celtic would be an even greater achievement.
Lustig went through the card in 2010 as he helped the Norwegian powerhouse complete their unbeaten campaign.
The defender said: “You only play 30 games a season in the Norwegian league but still need to be focused to do it. There can be a referee decision or something that can change it but our strength this season has been to go and go and go.
“It doesn’t matter if we feel as though we are struggling a wee bit, we just go on. Ibrox is another game but we’re high on confidence and will go there to do our thing.
“This season is far from finished for us and there is plenty to play for.”