‘We have no idea’: Tonight’s Celtic rival admits he has massive concerns

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Hearts manager Daniel Stendel has serious concerns about the fitness of his playing squad ahead of tonight’s match against Celtic.

Neil Lennon’s Celtic could face a seriously depleted Hearts side at Tynecastle tonight, with the two teams set to go head-to-head in the Scottish Premiership, The Scottish Sun report.

Hearts boss Stendel has already inherited a team racked with injury problems and after taking a look at his Tynecastle squad has admitted he may have to look at strengthening in the January transfer window.

Striker Uche Ikpeazu is suspended for the Celtic game with long-term absentees Peter Haring, John Souttar, Ben Garuccio and Conor Washington all missing out too (BBC Scotland).

Stendel has also confirmed Steven Naimsmight won’t play, with Christophe Berra and Jamie Brandon injury doubts.

The German admitted he doesn’t have a timeframe on some of his stars return to first-team action.

Speaking ahead of the Celtic game, he told The Scottish Sun: “We hope Steven Naismith is an option for Saturday’s game. But at the moment we have no idea when Peter Haring will come back.

“Conor Washington is not so close and it’s similar with John Souttar. I only see him in the morning in the medical room.

“The medical staff are working hard to change the situation. But a lot of important players have long-term injuries, and at the moment we have no idea if they can play in January. This is a big question mark for us, especially for the transfer window coming up.”

Can Celtic capitalise?

Tynecastle can be one of the tougher fixtures on Celtic’s schedule, with the fiery atmosphere and desire from Hearts often combining to make them quite a foe on the big occasion.

However, with Hearts struggling for form and personnel, tonight really is a big chance for Celtic to capitalise on their woes in the capital and extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

The Hoops play a game more than Rangers in December and so have a chance to open a five-point gap on their rivals by the time the derby rolls around at the end of the month. Winning that would, of course, extend that to eight.

In the midst of a heavy fixture schedule, this match has the potential to be a banana skin, but given Stendel’s worries, clearly Celtic head into the encounter with huge expectancy of three points.