Celtic v Bayern Munich injury update - Summer signing set to miss Champions League tie

It will be a quick return to Champions League action for Celtic after their 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa a fortnight ago in their final match of the League Phase.

After securing a spot in the knockout round they now face a two legged tie against Bayern Munich to try and reach the Last 16 of this season’s competition. It will be a tough test for Brendan Rodgers side who welcome the Bundesliga leaders to Celtic Park in the first leg before heading to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday, February 18.

The German giants have no shortage in quality throughout their first team squad but will go into the match without one of their marquee summer signings. Brazilian international midfielder João Palhinha is set to be unavailable for the first leg as he is suffering from the flu.

The £47.5 million arrival from Fulham, who has made 15 appearances this season, missed Friday’s 3-0 home Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen and the club sporting director Max Eberl has confirmed he does not expect the 29-year old to travel to Glasgow, saying: “I don't think Joao Palhinha will be on the plane to Scotland."

However, head coach Vincent Kompany is confident in his team’s strength in depth to manage without the 33 times capped Brazilian, adding: "We are starting to get a lot of our players back from injury now. We have a lot of players back ready. We'll have Serge Gnabry, Hiroki Ito and maybe even Alphonso Davies back this week. So we have the squad for it."

Wednesday’s meeting of the two clubs will be the fifth in history with the Hoops having never beaten their German opponents. Their last defeat against any Scottish side came in 1989 when they lost 1-0 to Hearts in the UEFA Cup.