Did Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers bring Anthony Ralston to St Petersburg?
Anthony Ralston was conspicious by his absence for Celtic’s development squad on Tuesday.
The young Hoops lost 4-1 to their Aberdeen counterparts, and Ralston, who played for the youth side earlier this month in his comeback from a five-month layoff with a knee injury, was nowhere to be seen.
Consequently, it seems plausible that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers brought him to Russia for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Zenit St Petersburg.
The Scottish giants landed in Russia on Wednesday evening and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the 19-year-old included in the Bhoys’ first-team squad tomorrow night.
Ralston hasn’t played a competitive game for Rodgers’s side since September but, if he’s there, his mere presence is a big reminder to regular right-back Mikael Lustig that he must improve.
The Swedish defender already has Cristian Gamboa nipping at his heels after the Costa Rican impressed in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with St Johnstone, and Lustig, who had endured an error-prone start to 2018, simply can’t afford any more sloppiness with Ralston now in the mix.
Callum McGregor’s goal at Parkhead last week gave Celtic a 1-0 aggregate lead, but progressing into the last 16 remains a big ask.
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