Simunovic ruled out for up to four months

Neil Lennon has revealed that Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic will be out until next year following a clean-up of his knee.

The 25-year-old Croatian has been sidelined since the Hoops’ 2-0 victory over AIK on August 22.

It was reported that he was expected to miss another three weeks following his operation earlier in the month but ahead of the trip to Hibernian in the Ladbrokes Premiership today, the Parkhead boss said: “You are probably looking at three to four months.

“It was a clean-up and he knows what to do for his rehab and we are just discussing maybe if he can go away for a few weeks and do his rehab at home.

“He is alright. It is a blow for us and the player. He felt it was a necessity and thankfully it is not a micro-fracture again, which is a serious operation where you are out for six to eight months.

“He has had a clean-up and obviously we have to tread carefully on his rehab and the sooner we get him back the better.”

Striker Leigh Griffiths remains out with an ongoing thigh strain as well as a virus which could leave him a doubt for Scotland’s upcoming Euro 2020 qualifying double-header against Russia and San Marino on October 10 and 13.

Griffiths’ last appearance for Celtic was as a substitute against Hearts in August and he was left out of Steve Clarke’s squad for games against Russia and Belgium earlier in the month.

Lennon said: “Not only has he got a thigh strain, he has a bit of a virus at the minute. I would love for him to be in the (Scotland) squad but he has not played much football recently, so that will be Steve’s call.”

● Celtic made an £8.7 million post-tax profit last season despite losing about £18 million in revenue, according to the club’s financial results.

Failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages hit Celtic’s income while operating costs including the wage bill were broadly similar.

Group revenue for the year to June 30 fell to £83.4 million while post-tax profits halved.

Celtic made a surplus on transfer dealings, mainly due to the sale of Moussa Dembele to Lyon for almost £20 million. Transfer spending was £6.2 million, down by just over £10 million from the previous financial year, when they bought Odsonne Edouard for a club-record fee of about £9 million.

The year-end net cash was £38.9 million, up almost £12 million.

Rehab: Jozo Simunovic.