'Every Celtic fan would play with broken face, so why not me?' Callum McGregor on derby return from injury that affected his sleeping and eating

It wasn’t a covering made of iron, mercifully, but it felt like Celtic’s man in the mask Callum McGregor was made of girders as he forged a pivotal role in his team’s flaying of Rangers.

The Celtic captain’s willingness to put himself in harm's way only 11 days on from what the 28-year-old has now revealed was a double fracture of his cheekbone appears above and beyond in service to his club’s cause. McGregor, though, plays down any sense of valour – and any real sense of risk. Even as he admits the week-and-a-half since he was felled during the Scottish Cup tie in Alloa by a facial collision it was suspected would sideline him for up to six week impacted on the fundamental aspects of day-to-day living. And left him in excruciating pain. Yet, none of that means he harboured any fears going into a derby that delivered a 3-0 success to take Celtic to the top of the table. McGregor took on the challenge of playing in the fixture because he knew that those willing him and his team to succeed would put themselves through that.

“No, no fear,” he said of any apprehensions over his comeback that followed the Scotland international coming through a training session the day before Wednesday’s confrontation. “You know the situation, but when the game starts you just go into that mode where you don’t have any fear. The atmosphere, the adrenaline, everything is going and you just want to help the team. I spoke before the game that I just wanted to do everything I could to get myself on the pitch and help the team, and do that for the supporters. I know that every single one of them would play with a broken face if they had to, so why am I any different? I thought the team were absolutely first-class and full credit to them as well.

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