Reo Hatate in Celtic injury blow but Ange Postecoglou hopeful of Stephen Welsh's Kilmarnock chances

Ange Postecoglou says Celtic's clash with Kilmarnock on Sunday will come too soon for Reo Hatate. But he insists Stephen Welsh could feature as he recovers from an injury problem of his own.

Influential midfielder Hatate missed Saturday's win at Ross County with a minor muscle problem with David Turnbull and Matt O'Riley joining Callum McGregor in the engine room. And it may be the same trio at Rugby Park this weekend with Postecoglou not keen to take a chance on the Japanese star.

He said at his press conference: "Reo is okay but I think we will give him another week. Particularly with the artificial surface, we are just thinking it's probably best he gets another week of training and is available for next week.

Academy graduate Welsh meanwhile started Celtic 's opening game of the season with Aberdeen but also missed out on the squad last weekend. Postecoglou says he's back training with the team and may be fit in time to feature.

He went on: "(Welsh) had his first session today with the team. He will train tomorrow and we will make a decision then but at least he is back out there in training.

Postecoglou's right-hand man John Kennedy has been linked with the vacant FC Midtjylland job in Denmark. And asked about that at the fan media press conference, the Australian refused to commit either way - telling reporters to ask Kennedy himself for an update.

“You’re best placed to ask John about that, not me," he said. "I don’t read the newspapers, so excuse me if I’m not up to speed with what the latest news is. He’s had a fantastic managerial journey so far in terms of gaining experience and knowledge. He’s worked with some fantastic managers.

“He’s built up his expertise through different areas of the game. He