Celtic have signed Israeli international winger Liel Abada to a five-year contract, while the Bhoys also suffered a triple injury in their last preseason friendly.
The 19-year-old hails from Maccabi Petah Tikva and will connect with his new teammates on Friday. Abada, who made his international debut last month, is a right-wing player who had a brief spell up front for his club last season and scored 20 goals in 76 total games for Tikva.
Abada is Celtic third summer signing, with former Sheffield Wednesday partner Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide arriving earlier.
His arrival will give Ange Postecoglou much-needed options after Celtic spent last season largely without James Forrest and Mikey Johnston through injury, and the only other winger, Mohamed Elyounoussi, has returned to parent club Southampton.
Forrest received a self-isolation order before Celtic’s preseason training camp in Wales and Johnston was injured early when Celtic took on Bristol City in a friendly on Wednesday night.
Celtic also suffered a pre-game injury problem when Vasilis Barkas was replaced in goal by Scott Bain just before kick-off.
Kristoffer Ajer was not involved in the goalless draw amid new speculation linking him to a possible move to Brentford. The Hoops have been linked to moves for Rennes winger Brandon Soppy and Rubin Kazan’s Swedish center-back Carl Starfelt.
Odsonne Edouard was also absent at Bristol after suffering a thigh strain in the weekend’s friendly win over Charlton. Karamoko Dembele started with Tom Rogic and Ryan Christie also absent.
Albian Ajeti and David Turnbull forced saves, but City hit the post twice.
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Injuries of concern in Postecoglou
Dembélé was also injured after taking a heavy hit, while Ismaila Soro did not reappear in the second half after appearing to have problems with his hamstring. And Postecoglou regretted the injury situation.
“We are not good in numbers at the moment so it is a bit disappointing,” he told Celtic TV. “We may have lost a couple, but we’ll see how it all clears up. Hopefully they are not so bad.
“It was a tough workout for the guys. We also had a really strong session on Tuesday. To be fair, we started really well and I thought the first 45-55 minutes we were really good. We dominate the game, we create chances and we don’t really allow much.
“Again there were some positive signs, but it is a very fine line. We are trying to get children to work as much as possible without compromising their well-being.
“We suffered a couple of injuries so that’s a bit disappointing. But overall, in terms of football, it was another positive step. “
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