There is one Celtic star who Brendan Rodgers is happy to see buck the trend in bid to prove he has the chops

Brendan Rodgers will be pacing the living room and chewing his fingernails down to the bone over the next few weeks.

Most managers deal with international breaks through gritted teeth but the June set of fixtures have the ability to drive club gaffers up the wall.

Celtic gaffer Rodgers has eight stars off on national service when he’d much rather they were at home or lying by a pool with the feet up for a few weeks after a long, hard slog of a season.

The Hoops already have Reo Hatate and James Forrest set for a summer on the treatment table, along with Jota who is out until 2026.

Adam Idah and Liam Scales are on Ireland duty, Anthony Ralston with Scotland, Kasper Schmeichel will look to bounce back from Hampden heartache with Denmark, with Yang Hyun-jun and Viljami Sinisalo with Korea and Finland respectively and exile Luis Palma reporting for Honduras.

Rodgers will keep keeping fingers crossed for his main men, but there is one player the Irishman might be glad to see in action this summer. Paulo Bernardo.

The midfielder will finish off his time with the Portugal youth set up at the Under 21 Euros in Slovakia, which kick off next week.

And the games against France, Poland and Georgia – with the prospect of more in the knockout stages – could be just what the playmaker needs to recapture some form.

Bernardo has already made 28 appearances at under 21 and he could set a new national record if he plays the three group games.

And these clashes could be just what the 23-year-old needs after a season that failed to catch fire.

The former Benfica youngster turned his initial loan move into a permanent deal last summer for £3.5m and it looked a no brainer at the time.

Bernardo hadn’t always been a regular in his first