CALLUM OSMAND faces an anxious wait before he is told he can resume playing after being stretchered off in Celtic’s dismal 3-1 loss to FC Midtjylland last night.
In the space of only eight days, the striker, who will be 20 tomorrow, saw his dramatic rise to fame plunge into injury chaos.
Osmand, a summer recruit from Fulham, made his debut as a late substitute in the champions’ 4-0 Premiership win over Falkirk at Parkhead last midweek.
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BHOY…Callum Osmand celebrates at Hampden.
He sealed his arrival with the third and clinching goal against Rangers in the 3-1 Premier Sports League Cup semi-final triumph at Hampden on Sunday and his reward was a call-up to the European squad after a change of rules by UEFA.
With Cameron Carter-Vickers ruled out for at least five months with a hamstring injury, that opened the way for the lively frontman to take his place in the pool.
But it all went tragically wrong for Osmand after coming on at the interval for Johnny Kenny in Denmark with the Hoops already trailing by three goals.
The youngster was brought down for the penalty-kick that was netted by Reo Hatate in the 81st minute and, only moments later, the forward collapsed to the turf in pain.
Interim boss Martin O’Neill said: “Oh, he was distraught. He’s pulled a hamstring and that’s something that – obviously, he’s very young – it’s never happened to him before, so he doesn’t know.
HAIL THE HAMPDEN HERO…Callum Osmand acknowledges the acclaim of the Celtic fans.
“And, yeah, he was distraught because he was just trying to get his career going.
“But, if everything works out well, he’ll recover from that and then start again and that’s what I’ve said to him.”
The Irishman, speaking in a report in Sky Sports, added: “I said: ‘Listen, you were starting to get going, this is just a setback for you. But it’s not terminal, in that sense, and you can fight back’.
“He’ll be out for x number of weeks now and it is a shame because he was trying to make an impression.”
Osmand may even have been in line for his debut against Kilmarnock on Sunday afternoon, but the nearest he will get to the action at Parkhead will be a place in the stand.
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