Daizen Maeda dealt Celtic injury hammer blow as Brendan Rodgers lays out return timeline

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Daizen Maeda has suffered a nightmare injury - and couldn't give a guarantee he would be back before the end of the season.

The Scottish Premiership leaders will have a chance to extend their lead at the summit to four points when they face off against St Mirren - with Rangers making their trip to Dingwall on Sunday. Philippe Clement's men also still hold a game on hand over the Hoops with the clash at Dens Park against Dundee being called off for a second time on Wednesday.

And Maeda now faces a race to be fit for the final run-in with Rodgers revealing that he will miss the clash with the Buddies and will now be scrutinised by the Parkhead medical team. The Celtic boss said: "Daizen will miss the weekend and we will just need to see. He has an injury high-up in his hamstring in his tendon and we will have to see what that looks like in the coming weeks.

"He is certainly not available for the weekend. It is one that the medical team will look at and see where that goes, then we will understand what inclusion he will have between now and the end of the season."

Liam Scales is also set to miss the visit of Stephen Robinson's side. However, Luis Palma is now ready for selection after missing a number of weeks.

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