Motherwell vs Celtic injury news as 9 confirmed out and 2 doubts for Scottish Premiership clash

Celtic will head south of the city this weekend as they prepare for their Scottish Premiership fixture against Motherwell. Brendan Rodgers’ side have got off to a near perfect start to their campaign with just five wins and one draw from their opening six fixtures.

Last weekend, the Hoops overcame an early red card to beat Livingston 3-0. Goalkeeper Joe Hart was sent off within the first 30 minutes of the match following a foul outside the box but it was of little matter thanks to goals from Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda. O’Riley and Hatate are both in the midst of negotiating contract extensions with their goals confirming Rodgers intent on extending their stays in Parkhead for as long as possible.

However, Celtic will now turn their attention to the upcoming fixture against Motherwell - a side currently sitting fourth in the league with three wins from their first six matches. The Fir Park side have been given a huge boost as they can add Pape Souare to the mix when determining who will make the starting XI. Speaking to the press ahead of the weekend’s action, the Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has confirmed they will still be missing several key stars but will more importantly be welcoming back the Senegalese defender and Irish striker Connor Wilkson.

“Pape Souare has managed to train this week so he will give us another option and we have Connor Wilkson coming back into the fray,” said Kettlewell. “In the not too distant future, hopefully in the next two to three weeks, we will see guys like Calum Butcher, Mika Biereth and Jon Obika start to appear closer to the first-team squad.”

As for the Hoops, Rodgers will be delighted to welcome back Nat Phillips to the set-up. The Englishman has been out of action since his debut against Dundee where he rolled his ankle. However the Liverpool loanee is now ready for action as Celtic’s injury crisis begins to ease. They will, however, of course be without Joe Hart due to his suspension.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, the Irish football manager said Maik Nawrocki, Liel Abada, Stephen Welsh and Marco Tilio continue to remain on the sidelines but “No-one else (other than Phillips) who has been out injured will be back.”

Cameron Carter-Vickers is also still injured but in training: “Well we’ve got Cam who’s coming back in to re-join the training group, but he’s not going to be ready until after the international break I would suspect.”

Celtic’s fixture at Fir Park kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday 30 September 2023.