Brendan Rodgers has confirmed Celtic will be without defender Filip Benkovic until at least March due to an ankle problem.
Croatia Under-21 international Benkovic joined the Scottish champions in the summer on a season-long loan from Leicester City and he has been a regular first-team fixture since arriving, making 16 league appearances and scoring two goals.
There were reports claiming the Foxes were considering recalling the 21-year-old centre-back this month due to his impressive results but the Premier League outfit, who drew 1-1 at Liverpool on Wednesday night, decided against this.
In a cruel blow for both the player and the Bhoys, Rodgers revealed the Zagreb-born star will be spending some time on the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury at the weekend.
Jozo Simunovic deputised for Benkovic in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone – a result that has put the defending champions six points clear – and Rodgers was pleased with the 24-year-old’s display. “Initially he’ll be out for around four to five weeks,” he said.
“He will have his ankle in a boot for the next couple of weeks and then we will assess it after four weeks and it will take a week to 10 days to get back into training rhythm again.”
Rodgers has revealed that he hopes to do some business before the transfer window closes, while confirming there is an agreement for Lewis Morgan to join Sunderland on loan for the rest of the season.
Celtic return to action on Sunday when they travel to St Johnstone for league action and the visitors are 1.40 favourites to come away with all the spoils, a draw is priced at 4.75 and the hosts are 7.50 outsiders.
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