BHOY’S BATTLE
Bitton races to be fit for clash against Astana
CROCKED Nir Bitton insists he’s prepared to play through pain to edge Celtic a step closer to the Champions League.
The Israeli midfielder is a doubt for Wednesday’s home leg against FC Astana after limping from Celtic’s International Champions Cup defeat to Barcelona with his ankle in a protective boot.
Bitton went over on the ankle in the opening minutes of the 3-1 loss, but played on until half-time.
A game-changing influence in the first-leg draw in Astana, the holding midfielder will now undergo a scan after Brendan Rodgers acknowledged that the injury looked ‘nasty’.
Insisting he wants to play against the Kazakh champions, Bitton said: ‘If it was my decision then I would play like that. But it’s not my decision.
‘It’s not about me, it’s about the team. If I don’t think I can help the team if I’m not 100 per cent then it’s not fair to the other players for me to play.
‘Hopefully we’ll see on Monday how I feel and that I have a chance. Hopefully I’ll be OK for Wednesday. It’s still a bit swollen, but we will see.’
Already juggling a raft of injuries in central defence,
From Back Page with new Bhoy Kolo Toure (below) short of match fitness, Rodgers was desperate to avoid further mishap in the glamour friendly with Lionel Messi and co. But Bitton knew he was in trouble immediately, admitting: ‘The first 10 seconds I felt that I couldn’t stay on. But then, when your body’s warm and the adrenalin, it’s a big game and you want to play, I carried on. ‘Maybe I should’ve gone off. But I didn’t want to. Every game I play, I try to give my best. ‘Sometimes, it goes better, sometimes not at all. But it’s not about me, it’s about Celtic. ‘I think we had a good result away to Astana and now we want to finish it on Wednesday.’ With Rodgers ready to slash the size of the Celtic squad by around a dozen players, Bitton insists he is happy to stay at Parkhead after a bid from Spanish outfit Espanyol was turned down. ‘To be honest, I don’t think of talk of other clubs,’ he insisted. ‘I’m really happy where I am now. Celtic is a big club, it’s a big honour for me to be part of this club. As long as I’m here, I will try to do my best and, hopefully, I will stay for many years. ‘I play for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, so I don’t think about anything else. As long as you’re part of Celtic, you don’t think about other clubs. ‘This club gave me the opportunity to show myself, that’s it. ‘When you play for a club like Celtic then you have a lot of competition. ‘We have a lot of midfielders and everyone wants to play. You need to show yourself, every training session, every game.’ Bitton, meanwhile, has told international team-mate Ofir Marciano to jump at the chance to join his former Celtic manager Neil Lennon at Hibs. The FC Ashdod keeper — also a former team-mate of Parkhead defender Efe Ambrose — is poised to sign a one-year loan deal after Lennon let Mark Oxley and Conrad Logan go. ‘Ofir is a great friend of mine,’ said Bitton. ‘I think he is a very good goalkeeper. He has played the 10 games in Euro qualification. He was unlucky last year, but I think he is a very good goalkeeper. ‘He would love to join Hibernian. He asked about the club, about the league. ‘All I had to say to him were good things. I think Hibernian is a big club and Scottish football would be a good opportunity for him to show himself. ‘I’m happy he is coming.’