Former Celtic star Kris Commons insists Callum McGregor will become an even better captain despite missing out on the clash with Rangers.
The Scotland international is facing two months on the sidelines after breaking his cheekbone against Alloa on Saturday evening.
That means he will miss the clash with Premiership champions Rangers, a match which comes at a crucial point in the campaign with just four points separating the sides.
But one former Celtic man believes McGregor can still make his influence felt, and will become a better skipper as a result.
Commons wrote in his Daily Mail column: "He won't be able to lead the team out in front of 60,000 fans but his influence will still be felt at training, in the dressing room, at team meetings, and in sharing his experience with the new signings who have not yet experienced an Old Firm game.
"It's clearly something that McGregor will wish had not happened, but it will make him an even better captain.
"During my time at Celtic, Scott Brown was excellent at playing his part as captain while not on the field.
"Celtic did not cope very well when McGregor was out of the team earlier in the season but they are in a much better place now.
"They are unbeaten in their last 19 domestic matches and that will have given them a huge amount of confidence.
"Postecoglou has done good business in the January transfer window and he is putting a decent squad together.
"It has not been a work in progress. It's not a Steven Gerrard situation where he was given three years at Ibrox to win one trophy.
"Postecoglou has had to sign eight to ten players and it's astonishing that they are breathing down the necks of a stable Rangers side that has been together for three or four years.
"Now it is time for the players he has signed, but who have not played as much, to step up to the plate."
Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda will miss the February 2 clash at they head off for international duty, while Rangers will be without Alfredo Morelos.
But Commons insists there can be no excuses for either side despite the blow of losing key men.
He insisted: "I hate excuses being made when players are absent.
"I think back to the night when we beat Barcelona in 2012. We would have been underdogs even if we'd had our strongest team out. We would probably have been underdogs if Barcelona had only fielded five players!
"That night we were missing our captain, Scott Brown, our best centre-forward, Gary Hooper, and our player of the year, Emilio Izaguirre, and we still, somehow, managed to come out with one of the greatest results in Celtic's modern history.
"So, yes, Celtic may be missing important figures from their line-up on February 2, but they will feel they still have the players capable of delivering a vital victory against Rangers."
