Martin O’Neill eases Callum McGregor injury fears as Celtic skipper nears return

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is hopeful Callum McGregor will only miss one more game through injury as he allayed fears his captain had suffered a recurrence of an Achilles problem.

McGregor sat out last Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup penalty shoot-out win over Rangers and will not face Motherwell in the William Hill Premiership on Saturday.

O’Neill confirmed Kieran Tierney would be back from a foot knock and McGregor’s absence would not be long-term.

The midfielder had a five-week lay-off in a crucial part of the season two years ago after an Achilles injury flared up, and O’Neill revealed at Ibrox that his medical team were concerned it was a recurrence of a previous injury.

Speaking ahead of Motherwell’s visit, the Celtic boss said: “Funny enough, Tim (Williamson), my physio, mentioned this to me earlier. There were rumours flying around that this is what it was. it’s got nothing to do with it. That was an Achilles injury, this is just a calf strain.

“He has done very well in recovery and we’d be hopeful for him for next week.”

The 32-year-old’s influence in the Celtic team was just as apparent in his absence as the Hoops struggled to get forward at Ibrox, failing to register a single shot other than Daizen Maeda’s disallowed goal.

Luke McCowan started at the base of Celtic’s midfield before being replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Paulo Bernardo came on during extra time.

O’Neill said: “He’s been a great captain both in the dressing room and on the field. But that’s something that at home we will have to address, against Motherwell. We will have to find a few better attacking options.”

O’Neill reported that Kasper Schmeichel was on the road to fitness but could not say if the goalkeeper would be in the squad on Saturday.

The Dane has been missing for three games after being named on the bench behind Viljami Sinisalo in Celtic’s 1-0 win in Stuttgart.

The 39-year-old’s absence was initially put down to illness but it was revealed he had an injection in his shoulder ahead of the cup win at Ibrox.

O’Neill said: “Kasper is much, much better now. He has trained (on Friday) and his shoulder is feeling much better after the injection.”

Celtic face a Motherwell team who are just five points behind their hosts and who beat the champions 2-0 during Wilfried Nancy’s reign.

“They have had a fantastic time,” O’Neill said. “A bit of a setback last week against Dundee but they really have been the proverbial breath of fresh air for the league. It’s been terrific, played really well, and they play matches without any real fear.”

Meanwhile, O’Neill expressed hope that the Green Brigade would accept conditions laid out by Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council’s Safety Advisory Group for them to return from a club-imposed ban.

Chairman Brian Wilson claimed the conditions were standard across the stadium and included respecting stewarding and police protocols and stopping what the Celtic chief called “anti-police activities” including “photographing police and ‘Pig Watch’ campaigns”.

O’Neill said: “If it could be sorted it would be fantastic because we want the club the club going in the same direction.”