Liel Abada is set to be out for up to four months with a thigh injury; he could miss Celtic's entire Champions League campaign; the winger recently agreed a new four-year deal with the Scottish champions
Thursday 14 September 2023 14:58, UK
Winger Liel Abada could miss Celtic's entire Champions League campaign after suffering a thigh injury during training with Israel.
The 21-year-old has been a first-team regular this season under Brendan Rodgers and started in the 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox in their last Scottish Premiership match.
He was called up to the Israel squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Romania and Belarus but suffered the injury during a training drill and missed both games.
Manager Brendan Rodgers admitted it is a blow to the player who agreed a new four-year deal on transfer deadline day.
He said: "He's gone to London today for a scan. We think it's going to be around three to four months.
"He picked it up at the end of training in a shooting exercise, so it's a real shame for us because he's done well over pre-season and as you can see, he's started a lot of the games since I've been here.
"We're really disappointed, but it's a squad game for us so we'll have other players to come in.
"It was his thigh when they were shooting at the end of training. It looks like he's done his thigh muscle.
"He signed a new deal and seemed happy. Of course, I was looking forward to continuing his development because he still does have lots of areas that he can improve on.
"It's a shame, it's a learning curve for him. He'll work hard, hopefully get back and we'll use him for the second part of the season."
Rodgers had named Abada in his 25-man squad for Celtic's upcoming Champions League campaign, with their first game away to Feyenoord on September 19.
Abada has scored 29 goals in 106 appearances, the most recent in Celtic's 3-1 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in August.
He has also won five trophies with the club, including last season's treble, and was voted PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year in his first season.
Sky Sports - This season up to 48 cinch Premiership games will be available across Sky Sports' flagship channels, including Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, plus at least five SWPL matches. From 2024/25, up to 60 cinch Premiership will be live on Sky Sports, in addition to the SWPL.
Sky Sports News - Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Scottish football fans can enjoy Sky Sports News' (channel 409) rolling editorial coverage of the cinch Premiership and SWPL throughout the season.
Sky Sports Digital - Follow all the latest from Scottish football across SkySports.com and app, including exclusive features and interviews, plus dedicated live blog coverage, in-game clips from matches live on Sky Sports and free highlights.
Sky Sports Social - Alongside coverage and visibility for the league across all Sky Sports' main social media channels, the bespoke Twitter channel @ScotlandSky will continue to be the home of all Scottish football content on Sky Sports.
Highlights show - Tune in for a dedicated round-up from the cinch Premiership every week on Sky Sports Football.
To download the Sky Sports app click here, to visit Sky Sports website click here.
Sky Sports is the home of domestic football in the UK and Ireland, with action from the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Women's Premier League, Premier League, WSL, EFL, and more.
Follow every Celtic game in the Scottish Premiership this season with our live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch match highlights for free.
Want the Celtic latest? Bookmark our Celtic news page, check out Celtic's fixtures and Celtic's latest results, watch Celtic's goals and video, keep track of the Scottish Premiership table and see which Celtic games are coming up live on Sky Sports.
Get all this and more - including notifications sent straight to your phone - by downloading the Sky Sports Scores app and setting Celtic as your favourite team.
