JAMES FORREST was prepared to play through the pain barrier in his gallant efforts to contribute to Celtic’s historic bid for 10 successive titles.
Plus the 29-year-old Scotland winger was eager to play a role in the Hoops’ quest to make an impact in Europe.
However, Forrest was forced to succumb to an ankle fracture when he had to be helped off after 34 minutes of the Europa League third qualifier against FC Riga in Latvia last month.
He is now likely to be out for up to six weeks after extensive medical tests have finally brought the issue to light, as CQN reported yesterday.
Boss Neil Lennon, speaking to the Daily Record, said: “It’s a very tiny stress fracture. We did two scans with James and the second CT scan showed it up.
“He’ll need to rest it for a couple of weeks and then do his rehab, so we’re probably looking at doing without him for four to six weeks and he’s a couple of weeks into that already.
“Looking back, it’s remarkable that he played on when he was carrying that injury, but it got to the stage where he just couldn’t keep going.
“At least now we’ve got to the bottom of it, we know what the problem is and he’s being treated accordingly.”
No comeback date has been set for Forrest, but he is obviously keen to play in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen which has been held over from last season and is now due for Hampden on Sunday, November 1.
Don’t rule him out!
