Last time the Hoops went to Rugby Park, their ex-academy ace scored the winner. This may not be a worry this time round.
Celtic have been handed a potential boost ahead of their Scottish Premiership crunch clash away at Kilmarnock on Sunday with the news that the player who came back to haunt them in September may not be available.
Defender Stuart Findlay, who came through the ranks at Parkhead but eventually left the club without making a single senior appearance (Transfermarkt), scored an injury-time winner to help Killie claim a 2-1 win over the Hoops at Rugby Park on matchday six.
By their own incredibly high standards, Celtic have not been at their best this season, and the 23-year-old’s winner cranked up the pressure on the reigning champions at the time – with 10 points from their opening six games, it was their worst start to a league season for 20 years (BBC Sport).
Things have however picked up for Brendan Rodgers’s side since then and they now boast a six-point lead over second-placed Rangers, while Aberdeen and Killie, this season’s outsiders for the title, are now 11 points behind and defeat for them on Sunday will all but kill off their fading title hopes.
Speaking about Findlay’s availability, manager Steve Clarke is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: “We had this question last week and we thought he would be fine this week but he hasn’t responded to treatment quite as well as we thought. We haven’t given up hope yet but he’s no better than 50-50 to be honest.”
Findlay has made 86 appearances for Kilmarnock in all competitions, scoring six goals and registering two assists, since beginning his association with them, first on loan from Newcastle United in 2017-18 and permanently thereafter (Transfermarkt).
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