Kristoffer Ajer looking forward to playing with De Vries after Gordon injury

Follow us on Google Discover

The Celtic goalkeeper has been ruled out for 12 weeks as confirmed by his manager yesterday.

Craig Gordon, 35, was confirmed to be out for 12 weeks by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers yesterday following a knee injury he sustained in a 1-0 victory against Hibs last weekend, as reported by Sky Sports.

The goalkeeper was involved in a coming together with former Hoops defender Efe Ambrose and had to be substituted off.

Celtic’s number 2 Dorus De Vries replaced the Scottish veteran and performed well under the circumstances. The Dutchman has rarely featured for the Celts since arriving from Nottingham Forest ahead of last season. However he now has a terrific chance to impress Rodgers once again.

Despite being out for around three months, Celtic fans will have been relieved to hear that Gordon’s injury is unrelated to the knee problems which kept the 35-year-old out of action for the best part of two years.

Speaking to the media via the official club website ahead of Celtic’s home game against Hearts tonight, centre-half Kristoffer Ajer opened up on the goalkeeping situation and had only praise for De Vries.

“I spoke to Craig today,” the Norwegian teenager said, “He’s had a bad injury and will hopefully be back as quickly as possible.

“He’s an experienced guy. He knows football can be harsh sometimes but he’ll recover and come back stronger.

“There’s no more pressure there without Craig in goals. Everyone knows their job.

“Dorus came in the second half against Hibs and did fantastic with the ball. He’s a great goalkeeper and has lots of experience as well. I’m looking forward to playing with him.”

Celtic will be looking for revenge over Hearts after their humiliating 4-0 loss at Tynecastle last month, which saw their unbeaten run of 69-domestic-games brought to an end.

“This game is a great opportunity for us to prove that we’ve developed a lot over the last few weeks,” Ajer added, “When we play at Celtic Park we want to win the game and that’s what we’re aiming for tomorrow night.”