Ex-Celtic star Peter Grant fears Callum McGregor could miss Old Firm showdown and Scotland’s World Cup play-off clash

Former Celtic star Peter Grant fears Callum McGregor could miss Scotland’s crucial World Cup play-off against Ukraine in March after suffering a “significant” facial injury.

The Hoops skipper was involved in a sickening clash with Adam King during Saturday’s 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Alloa Athletic at the Indodrill Stadium.

The result was overshadowed somewhat when McGregor was forced off in some discomfort during the first-half and the 28-year-old now faces an anxious wait to see how long he will be ruled out for.

McGregor, who has missed just one of his country’s last five international games, has been a key performer for both Steve Clarke’s national team and Ange Postecoglou’s side.

The midfielder will now undergo scans to determine the extent of his injury but looks certain to miss next week’s Old Firm clash against leaders Rangers at Parkhead.

McGregor’s absence would be a major blow for both club and country and while supporters will hopeful the injury is not as bad as first feared, Grant reckons Postecoglou’s reaction was far from positive.

Speaking on BBC Sportscene, he said: “You can tell Callum has picked up a bad one. It’ll be a huge loss for Celtic because he’s a top player for them.

“You look at the Celtic manager afterwards too and it’s the most disappointed I’ve seen him since he took over.

“My concern was seeing Callum holding the side of his faces. I broke a bone there myself.

“Everyone thinks the broken bone is around the cheek area all the time, but I was out for six to eight weeks.

“The way he was touching the side and not the front, it could be a broken bone down the side of the jaw.”

Celtic survived a late scare against their League One opponents after Connor Sammon’s 78th minute strike reduced the two-goal deficit created by Giorgos Giakoumakis and Liel Abada.

In a feisty contest, manager Ange Postecoglou also lost goal scorer Abada and Japanese midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi to injuries.

The Australian stated in his post-match interview: “Cal’s got a significant injury, I don’t know what it is but he’s not in a great shape.

“It’s not going to be a short-term, it looked significant. I am not a doctor, there’s a point I can’t go beyond.

“Cal’s a very important player, not just for what he contributes as a footballer but as a person. I am gutted for him more than anything else.

“We’ll wait an see but Liel and Yosuke should be okay.”

With the fixtures continuing to come thick and fast and a midweek trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle up next, Postecoglou is increasingly likely to be without McGregor for the foreseeable future.

The Australian will also have Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda missing for upcoming games due to their international call-ups for World Cup qualifiers, while Kyogo Furuhashi is also battling to recover from a hamstring injury.