Celtic have been left in an embarrassing situation after Brendan Rodgers admitting he’s completely unsure when Leigh Griffiths will return, reports The Sun. The Hoops manager had previously denied suggestions the Celtic striker was currently AWOL from the first-team, but his latest quotes suggest otherwise.
Rodgers said: “I don’t know when Leigh will be back involved. He has had some scans on one or two issues that he has had. He’s now back looking to get training. He’s nearly clear of his calf injury, so once he can get his work done and get up to speed in training, we’ll assess it from there. I’ve no timeline on it. Hopefully, he can get back soon.”
Griffiths pulled out of international duty for Scotland earlier in October, citing a knee problem and need to improve his fitness. It was suggested that his decision was motivated by a negative response to being dropped by manager Alex McLeish for Steven Naismith, although such a theory was never confirmed by any party. Griffiths had lost his place in the side to the Hearts striker, however.
So, after missing out of Scotland’s double-header against Israel (Nations League) and Portugal (friendly) on October 10 & 14, the 28-year-old has since been absent for Celtic’s Premiership clash with Hibernian six days later, missed their Europa League outing on October 25 and didn’t feature against Hearts on Sunday.
Signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2014, Griffiths has gone on to score and create 148 goals in 199 appearances in all competitions. He’s currently contracted until 2022, but this latest situation may raise doubt about his future at Parkhead, let alone with the Scotland national team.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
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