Araujo’s Season Over as O’Neill Delivers Mixed Celtic Injury Update
Interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Julian Araujo will not play again this season following a devastating setback. The defender is currently on loan from Bournemouth and has likely played his final match for the Glasgow side.
Araujo was already sidelined for Celtic’s last three fixtures due to a hamstring issue. He had traveled back to his parent club during the recent international break to undergo specialized treatment. O’Neill initially hoped the Mexican international would recover in time for the crucial final stretch of the league campaign. However, speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash against St Mirren, the manager revealed the disappointing news.
O’Neill admitted the update was a massive blow and explained that Araujo appears to have aggravated the exact same injury.
Despite the bad news regarding Araujo, the Celtic boss offered a much more positive outlook for Alistair Johnston. The fullback has officially returned to first team training. Johnston previously suffered an injury setback while on international duty, but O’Neill noted that he trained with the squad today without showing any negative side effects. The manager is hopeful that a strong week of practice will see him back in the starting lineup very soon.
Youngster Colby Donovan is also making encouraging progress. Donovan was forced to withdraw from the Scotland Under 21 squad last month after suffering a knee injury. While O’Neill expects the player to miss the upcoming week of action, he is optimistic that Donovan will not be sidelined for much longer.
These crucial squad updates arrive at a tense moment for Celtic. The Hoops currently sit three points behind league leaders Hearts with only six matches remaining in the Premiership title race.