Retour
SunSport have reported that both Camilo Durán and Cameron Carter-Vickers missed Celtic training on Wednesday ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Benfica.
Martin O’Neill’s side trained at Celtic Park before travelling to Portugal later in the day, but the pair were not involved in the session.
Keep track of every knock and return with our Celtic injury news.
His absence from Wednesday’s session now makes him an even bigger doubt for Lisbon.
Dane Murray started alongside Liam Scales at Fir Park, while Auston Trusty is also available and could come back into contention. O’Neill will need to decide whether to stick with Murray or bring Trusty back in for a European away game where Celtic are likely to face long spells without the ball.
Durán’s absence is the fresher concern.
The Colombian forward scored in the weekend win over Motherwell and has been one of Celtic’s more reliable attacking threats this season. His pace and direct running would be a useful option in Lisbon, especially in a game where Celtic may need to break quickly when chances come.
There has been no clear update yet on why Durán missed training, with O’Neill expected to be asked for more detail before the match.
His potential absence would be another blow given the attacking picture. Celtic are already without Jota for the Benfica game, with the winger not included in the Europa League squad despite making his return from injury against Motherwell.
The 17-year-old forward has been in excellent form for Celtic B, scoring 15 goals in 13 appearances across the Lowland League and KDM Evolution Trophy this season.
Clearie is also eligible for the Europa League as a List B player, although that does not mean he will be involved against Benfica. It does, however, give O’Neill another attacking option to look at if Durán is unavailable.
Celtic travel to the Estádio da Luz needing a response after losing their opening Europa League league phase match against Ferencvaros.
Benfica started with a win away to AC Milan and will be expected to put Celtic under pressure in front of their own supporters.
If Carter-Vickers and Durán are both unavailable, O’Neill will have decisions to make at both ends of the pitch. Celtic need to be solid enough to stay in the game, but they will also need enough pace and quality in attack to give Benfica something to worry about.