Celtic star Kieran Tierney has perhaps looked slightly short of his best in the last couple of games.
Celtic’s Kieran Tierney
The international break will hand the Celtic players not called up by their countries the chance to get some rest ahead of the run-in, but for those called up, they will be grateful that the Scottish Premiership title is virtually wrapped up.
The Hoops can clinch the league crown in their first game back following the break, meaning that they can focus almost all of their attention – it is difficult to imagine that they will not want to finish the season unbeaten – on the Scottish Cup.
With that in mind, it may be an idea for Brendan Rodgers to consider handing Kieran Tierney a rest before the upcoming semi-final with Rangers in April.
Tierney is in the Scotland squad, and while Gordon Strachan has suggested that he will not feature in Wednesday’s game against Canada (via Sky Sports), he may well play against Slovenia before returning to Parkhead.
However, he is arguably heading into the break with a couple of his less convincing performances under his belt, one of which came against Dundee, which is more than understandable given that he has not long been back from injury and is still just a teenager, which is easily forgettable given how reliable he has been since his emergence.
With Emilio Izaguirre arguably being one of the top left-backs in the Scottish Premiership, there would be no great impact from letting Tierney recharge his batteries upon his return by resting him for one or two games.
And if it helps him get back to full fitness for the semi-final, then Rodgers will surely feel that the decision has been vindicated as Rangers’ job at Hampden Park will be considerably harder if they have to compete against a defence that includes an in-form Tierney.
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