Celtic skipper Callum McGregor is now a major injury doubt for the Old Firm derby against Rangers at Parkhead.
The Hoops captain is definitely OUT of the crucial Premiership clash with Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday night.
McGregor was forced off in the Scottish Cup win over Alloa with a facial knock after a challenge with Wasps midfielder Adam King.
And Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed afterwards that the Scotland star suffered a ‘significant’ injury.
He’s unsure of the damage to McGregor’s cheekbone but admitted he won’t face Hearts and is set for a spell out.
Postecoglou said: “We’ll have to wait and see. Cal’s is a significant injury. It’s a facial injury.
“I don’t know what it is but he’s not in great shape. It’s not going to be short term, it’s significant.
“It’s been that sort of season for us. We’ve just had challenge after challenge.
“Callum’s a very important player, not just for what he contributes as a footballer but as a person.
“I’m gutted for him more than anything else.
“I’m not a doctor so there’s a point I can’t go beyond but it’s a significant injury.
“We’ve got a game on Wednesday night that we’re focused on but Callum won’t play on Wednesday."
McGregor’s injury wasn’t the only problem for the Celtic gaffer at Alloa, with Liel Abada and Yosuke Ideguchi also limping off.
Postecoglou doesn’t expect either of them to be missing for a considerable length of time but was once again cursing his luck with injuries.
With Kyogo Furuhashi already crocked and Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda now away on international duty, it leaves the Hoops short on bodies.
But Postecoglou says they’ll just have to get on with it, with Hearts up next followed by Dundee United and then Rangers on February 2.
He said: “Liel and Yosuke should be OK. We’ll do what we’ve done so far and that’s just get on with it.
“We’ve had different challenges this season and got on with it - that’s credit to the players. This is just another challenge for us.”
Postecoglou’s side progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 victory over Alloa, with Giorgos Giakoumakis and Abada getting the goals.
The Greek striker is going to be a key player for Celtic with Maeda and Kyogo unavailable and his manager was pleased to see him get on the scoresheet.
He said: “It was good for him to get a goal. He hasn't played much so it was good for him to get 90 minutes.
‘He has to improve on that but like all strikers it's good for him to get a goal and he took it well.
“We need him to improve and he will.
"The main thing in cup competitions is to progress and we did that today.
“We could have made it easier for ourselves by killing the game in the first half.
“We created enough opportunities to make it a more comfortable victory.
"It was a difficult pitch for the way we play. We had quite a few guys getting their first significant game time for a while.
“So with all that in mind, it was an OK performance.
"There's some mitigating factors so I can't be too hard on the players. The most important thing is we are in the next round.”
Celtic were paired with Raith Rovers in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup with the tie at Parkhead on the weekend of February 12.
