Celtic’s Jack Hendry could be pressed into a key role.
According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic new boy Jack Hendry is in line to start the club’s crucial Europa League clash against Zenit St Petersburg next week due to an injury crisis.
The Bhoys swooped to sign Hendry from Dundee on deadline day, with Brendan Rodgers snapping up the defender after his impressive displays for Dundee following a summer move from Wigan Athletic.
Hendry started his Celtic career in Rodgers’ starting line-up against Kilmarnock, playing 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat – but the fallout from that game may add importance to Hendry’s role next week.
Kristoffer Ajer and Dedryck Boyata, who also featured at centre back for Celtic on Saturday, were both substituted through injury in the first half, and with both players likely to miss next week’s home Europa League leg against Zenit, Hendry is set for a starting role.
The perfect chance to start well
With January signing Marvin Compper and Mikael Lustig also injured, Hendry looks poised to start agianst Zenit alongside Jozo Simunovic in the heart of Rodgers’ defence, and the young Scot now has a huge chance.
Any new signing would want to start well with their new club, and whilst Hendry featured in that shock defeat to Kilmarnock, he will now get the opportunity to step up on the big stage against Zenit.
Hendry, 22, played just three times for Wigan before moving on to Dundee, and whilst he stepped into a starting role for Dundee with aplomb, playing in the Europa League is another matter.
A strong performance against the Russian side will not only prove that Rodgers was right to see potential in the Scot, but also prove that he can be the long-term solution to Celtic’s defensive qualms.
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