Celtic face an anxious wait to find out how long skipper Callum McGregor will be out of action for after a knee injury forced him off against RB Leipzig.
The captain trudged off in the first half in Germany as Ange Postecoglou 's team succumbed to a damaging 3-1 Champions League defeat. He was determined to play on and Postecoglou revealed he picked up the injury shortly prior to Leipzig's opener, before playing on for more than ten minutes when he was eventually replaced by Oliver Abildgaard.
He didn't require a stretcher which was a source of encouragement, but the manager grimaced after the game: "It doesn't look good. We were a bit unlucky with the goal. He (McGregor) was about to have a shot and something happened between his knee, he put an enormous effort to chase back and it was his toe poke which put the guy through. Looking at him, it doesn't look good, but I will see what the doctor says."
McGregor, who would have missed Celtic 's trip to St Johnstone on Saturday through suspension anyway, will now await an update from the medical team on how long he will face out. It comes at a hugely inconvenient time for his side, though, who have a run of 11 games in just less than a month before the World Cup break.
With Postecoglou confirming it's a knee problem, it means his injury will fall into one of three broad medical categories: Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3. And Record Sport looks at what this could mean.
Grade 1 (Strain) - 4-6 weeks
Commonly known as a ligament strain, a Grade 1 injury (often a type of contact injury) wouldn't be any cause for serious, long-term concern. It's one of the most common injuries in professional football and rarely requires surgery or any other corrective measures - just a few weeks rest and some ice on the point of impact and you're good to go.
Even a Grade 1 injury though would pose a problem for Postecoglou in the weeks ahead. It would effectively rule McGregor out of the remainder of the Champions League group stage campaign, though a return against Motherwell or Ross County just before the World Cup break wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility, especially given how infrequent injuries have been for McGregor in recent years.
Grade 2 (Partial tear)- 6-18 weeks (approx)
This is the grey area for knee injuries, where things are notoriously difficult to predict. Often categorised as a partial tear to the meniscus ligament, if it stretches beyond a minor strain then corrective surgery can be required before a player can return to full training. And depending on how they respond, it can be anything from six weeks to three months - or sometimes even longer in rare cases - before they are back in action.
This is the kind of injury managers are often highly cautious about throwing players back in from. It's the type that can recur again and again, sometimes worse than it was initially, if not treated with proper care. If it's a Grade 2 injury, unless there is some miraculous recovery, McGregor certainly won't be seen before the World Cup. It might even be well into December, or after the New Year, before he's back on the pitch.
Grade 3 (Ruptured ligament) - 6 months - out for season
Grade 3 is a season-ender in most cases. It's even been known to put an end to players' careers.
This is the type of serious issue that ruled Christopher Jullien out for more than 12 months after colliding with the post against Dundee United. Chelsea's Ben Chilwell picked up a Grade 3 rupture against Juventus in November last season, and didn't kick a ball again until the final day of the campaign. These are not to be messed with.
Given McGregor walked off the pitch on Wednesday night without requiring a stretcher, it seems unlikely it's this serious. But the Parkhead side will be taking no chances until they know exactly what the problem is.
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