Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston has been ruled out for about three months with a hamstring injury.
And manager Brendan Rodgers faces further fitness concerns over striker Adam Idah and centre-back Auston Trusty.
Johnston was carried off on a stretcher during Celtic’s goalless home draw with Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday, a match which brought the club’s delay in strengthening their attacking options into sharp focus.
The injury blows have now further exacerbated the selection issues facing Rodgers, who revealed the results of Johnston’s scan ahead of Saturday’s William Hill Premiership encounter at home to Livingston.
“He’ll probably be about 12 weeks,” said Rodgers, whose team fly to Kazakhstan on Sunday.
“It’s so disappointing for him because he’s come back and started well. When you lose any player, especially of that calibre, then of course it’s a disappointment, but it’ll provide opportunity for someone to step in.
“We know we have Tony (Ralston) and I’ve got Colby Donovan who, as a young player here, has really impressed me over the time I’ve been back and in this last 12 months he’s made great strides.
“My first look is always inside (the club). That’s something that we’ll gain more clarity on over the next week or so but that’s certainly my first look.”
On the other fitness issues, Rodgers said: “Adam is struggling with his knee. His availability has been very, very good since he’s been here. He doesn’t go down easy either. He’s had some knocks before and played through them and put himself out there for the team.
“So we’ll see how he responds over the next 24 hours, but he could be a doubt for (Saturday). He’s a strong boy and hopefully, if he is out, it won’t be for too long.
“Auston Trusty could be out for a bit with the plantar fascia issue that he’s had. It can be a period of time, that one. Sometimes it can be an operation, it can be a really sore one when you’re planting the foot, so we normally have to wait and see on those ones.”
Celtic fans were also concerned when they saw Daizen Maeda wince in pain after he saw a late chance saved in midweek.
“We’ve probably had to use him more than we would have liked, but he’s OK, just a bit stiff and crampy,” Rodgers said.
With Idah a doubt and Celtic still to replace the departed Nicolas Kuhn and injured Jota, Rodgers will not start Maeda against Livi if he reports any issues.
“I would never put the player at risk, ever,” Rodgers said. “If he’s not ready to play or he’s feeling anything or there’s any sort of doubt, we wouldn’t start him.
“We had a really, really consistent year last year, especially in the first six months. All of that was based around the ability to be able to refresh the team and take players on and off. And that kept the energy, kept the tempo, everything in the team and the football’s great.
“And when you can’t do that, there’s an effect. And for the likes of Daizen, he’s had to play a little bit more than we would have liked, but he’s still in good condition.”
