Boyata stays at home as Celtic head to Athens

Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata was absent yesterday as the rest of the squad flew out to Greece ahead of tomorrow night’s vital Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens.

Boyata, still to appear for Celtic this season after a decent World Cup with Belgium, missed Saturday’s defeat by Hearts after insisting he was injured.

The player’s agent says his client, in the final year of his contract, won’t risk further injury while his future is up in the air and so is also unavailable for the match with Athens, which is delicately poised at 1-1 after the first leg.