Wednesday 12 December 2018 15:43, UK
Leigh Griffiths will take a break from football for "a number of months" due to ongoing personal issues, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed.
The Hoops striker, who recently returned from illness and another calf injury, came off the bench in the 5-1 Scottish Premiership win over Kilmarnock at the weekend.
But he missed training on Wednesday morning and is out of Celtic's Europa League Group B clash with Salzburg at Parkhead on Thursday night.
On Wednesday, Rodgers said: "Leigh will be taken out of football now for a little period of time.
"Leigh has had ongoing issues now for a number of months and he has done amazing to play to the level and score some of the goals he has.
"But he has reached the point where it is a struggle for him and we are going to give him all the professional help that he possibly needs to get himself into a good place again. But in order to do that, he needs to find a happiness.
"He is a father of five children, he is a great guy but football and life is tough for him.
"So we want to help him with that and we will let you know another time when he is back."
Asked if it was more than a physical injury, Rodgers said: "Yes it has been ongoing in my time here with Leigh.
"I am very close with him, we have a very strong relationship and he has had a number of issues around outside of the football environment and thankfully for him, there is great support out there and it is no longer a weakness now to talk."
