Celtic suffer Boyata blow
Woe for Rodgers as Belgian limps off in tour curtain-closer
DEDRYCK BOYATA will undergo a scan in Glasgow after Celtic sustained a Champions League injury scare in Prague last night.
The Belgian international was distressed after taking a bang on the knee during a tussle with Slavia Prague’s Josef Husbauer in the midst of a goalless draw.
Boyata left the Eden Arena in crutches, his knee in a brace, as the incident a minute before halftime ended Celtic’s three-game tour of Austria and the Czech Republic on a sombre note.
Scotland’s champions will face Linfield of Northern Ireland in the second qualifying round of the Champions League next week, and Brendan Rodgers could be forced to improvise if Boyata is shown to have suffered damage to his ligaments.
With Celtic already in the market for a centre-half, Jozo Simunovic and Erik Sviatchenko are the only acknowledged central defenders left, and Rodgers admitted: ‘We’re unsure about Dedryck. We just need to see.
‘He obviously has pain in the knee. It just looked like his touch got away from him. It was a block tackle. That can sometimes open up the ligament in the knee. When he put the weight on it, he was in some pain. We’ll see how it looks.
‘He is a boy who has been plagued with injuries. When I came in last year, he was injured.
‘Looking at it from experience, it tells me that he probably will have a scan, just precautionary, so we can see what is up. Hopefully it isn’t too serious.
‘It was two players coming together from a short distance away. So, hopefully, that isn’t too serious.
‘The last thing he will want is to be injured for another part of the season with us. It’s an important season for us and it’s an important season for him with the World Cup (next year). He will want to be in the best possible form he can be in. We will see how it is when we get back.
‘I’m not overly concerned. I have got Mika (Mikael Lustig) who can play there. In European football Kieran Tierney can play there, Kris Ajer is coming back. But we will just see how Dedryck is and take it from there.’
After two games in Austria, a 400km trek to the Czech capital ended the central European leg of Celtic’s preparations. Three games brought just two goals — one a penalty against Rapid Vienna. With better finishing, Scotland’s champions could have beaten their Czech counterparts.
‘Slavia Prague are a good side,’ added Rodgers. ‘I saw enough to see why they were champions last season. It was a relevant game for us against a good side and a potential opponent for us.
‘I was very pleased with my own team. It was another step up for us from Rapid Vienna.’
Aside from providing another chance to hone match fitness before Saturday’s trip to play Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, the Parkhead club also came here to honour one of their own.
The father of Czech football was Johnny Madden, Celtic’s centreforward in their inaugural game against Rangers in May 1888.
A resident of Dumbarton, Madden played for Scotland five times and had a surreal playing career. But he left his greatest imprint on Prague’s streets when he agreed to take on a missionary role as the first manager of Slavia in 1905.
In the course of a 25-year tenure, he revolutionised the national game, introducing a new code of athleticism and professionalism which saw the man known locally as ‘the codger’ lift four national titles, bowing out after an undefeated season in 1930. Celtic’s third and final pre-season game before returning to Scotland was the obvious time to rename the main stand in the Eden Arena in the old boy’s honour.
Slavia goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka had a decent night, producing saves in the opening 25 minutes from Lustig and Tom Rogic.
The home team took 37 minutes to test Craig Gordon, blowing two chances within 30 seconds when Milan Skoda failed to drive a low cross into the net. Michal Frydrych then headed over.
Celtic wasted the best chances of the second half, Scott Sinclair falling over his feet when it looked easier to slot a low cross into the net.
Callum McGregor’s attempts to score also found the side netting.
Declaring himself satisfied with the trip as a whole, Rodgers said: ‘Tactically, I was very pleased with the team. We were here to work on our football fitness. We pressed very well and if we had taken some of our chances we could have won the game.
‘I’m assessing the mentality of my team one year on and I’m very pleased with where we are.
‘Considering some of them are only back a week or ten days, I’m very happy.