Celtic captain Callum McGregor has a “very good chance” of making his return from injury against Rangers at Ibrox next weekend.
However the midfielder, who has missed recent games with an Achilles injury, won’t be part of the squad that takes on Livingston at Almondvale on Sunday.
The influential 30-year-old has been a big miss for club and country since he was taken off at half-time in the 7-1 win over Dundee.
He missed the 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle and both of Scotland’s friendly defeats to Northern Ireland and The Netherlands.
He has now returned to training but will not be risked on the artificial surface of the Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday.
Speaking to the media on Friday, manager Brendan Rodgers said: “Callum has been out on the field, but we are not risking him in this game. But he should hopefully re-join training next week.”
When asked if he still had a chance of facing Rangers seven days later, the Celtic manager said: “Yes, a very good chance.”
Celtic lead the Premiership pack by a single point as the league returns to action this weekend, but they could find themselves back in second spot by kick-off on Sunday if Rangers, who also have a game in hand, beat Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.
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