RYAN CHRISTIE is on the brink of his first Celtic appearance of 2020 as the champions prepare for the visit to Perth to take on St Johnstone this evening.
The Scotland international playmaker has been forced to sit out three games following his ludicrous SFA ban after the incident with Alfredo Morelos at Parkhead last month.
Christie watched from the sidelines as the holders kicked off their Scottish Cup defence with a 2-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill and then pick up six Premiership points with victories over Kilmarnock (3-1) at Rugby Park and Ross County (3-0) in Glasgow.
Neil Lennon will want the classy midfielder back in action as soon as possible and he could start against Tommy Wright’s team. The Irishman has included him in his provisional squad, as reported in the Daily Record.
Dutch teenage right-back Jeremie Frimpong, carried off against Killie a week ago, is still missing while Kritoffer Ajer is standing by to return.
Karamoko Dembele, who played a cameo role in the win over the Dingwall side on Saturday, is also included.
Provisional squad: Forster, Bauer, Hayes, Ajer, Bolingoli, Taylor, Jullien, Simunovic, Brown, McGregor, Arzani, Rogic, Ntcham, Johnston, Forrest, Edouard, Bayo, Klimala, Griffiths, Christie, Welsh, Dembele and Gordon.
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