Martin O’Neill explains Kasper Høgh absence for Falkirk clash

Martin O’Neill confirms Celtic duo will miss Falkirk clash as three changes made

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Callum McGregor and Kasper Høgh will both miss Saturday’s league meeting with Falkirk.

The pair were unavailable following Tuesday’s heartbreaking Champions League exit against LASK, forcing O’Neill to make three changes to his starting XI.

Auston Trusty drops to the bench, with Liam Scales coming into the defence to replace him. In midfield, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain steps in for McGregor, while Haissem Hassan gets his first start on the wing, allowing Camilo Duran to move into a central attacking role.

O’Neill admitted Celtic will have to carefully manage Høgh’s injury given the club’s busy schedule.

“We’ve got seven games coming up in the next 22 days and it’s about managing the injury Kasper has. We’ll take it day by day,” he said.

“Callum is ill and Kasper is injured.”

The Celtic boss also explained his decision to hand Hassan a starting role despite the winger arriving late in pre-season.

“Haissem Hassan has come in late to the fray,” O’Neill said.

“A lot of players who played at the World Cup are trying to make adjustments and coming in at the end of pre-season.

“It would have been nice if he was absolutely up to speed, but he starts the game.”

O’Neill knows Celtic must quickly move on from their European disappointment after surrendering a commanding aggregate advantage against LASK.

“It was a devastating blow [on Tuesday] considering the position we were in,” he admitted.

“It has happened. We can’t do anything about it now. Maybe we might not have been equipped to have played in the Champions League.

“That aside, let’s go out there, try to play and try to win the game.”