Martin O’Neill has revealed why Julian Araujo was missing from Celtic’s squad for their Scottish Premiership clash against Motherwell, confirming the defender is dealing with a thigh problem.
The Mexican international has been a regular in Celtic’s starting lineup since joining from AFC Bournemouth in January, making 13 appearances during that spell. However, he was one of three changes made by O’Neill for Saturday’s fixture, with academy graduate Colby Donovan coming into the team at right-back.
Speaking ahead of the match against the side managed by Jens Berthel Askou, O’Neill explained that Araujo picked up the injury during the week and the club decided it was safer not to risk him.
“Julian picked up an injury during the week,” O’Neill said. “He felt very tight after Sunday’s game against Rangers, and there has been a bit of pain in his thigh. Because of that, we felt there was no point in taking a risk with him today.”
Celtic and Motherwell have already faced each other twice this season. The first meeting ended in a dramatic 3–2 win for Celtic last October, with Daizen Maeda scoring a late winner.
However, the most recent encounter saw Motherwell claim a 2–0 victory at Fir Park against the team managed at the time by Wilfried Nancy.
Celtic starting XI vs Motherwell
Celtic lined up with:
Viljami Sinisalo, Colby Donovan, Arthur Theate, Liam Scales, Kieran Tierney, Reo Hatate, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Benjamin Nygren, Yang Hyun-jun, Anis Ben Slimane Tounekti, Daizen Maeda.
Substitutes included Ross Doohan, Václav Čvančara, Luke McCowan, Kelechi Iheanacho, Paulo Bernardo, Marcelo Saracchi, Daniel Murray, James Forrest, and Anthony Ralston.
Celtic will be hoping Araujo’s issue proves minor and that the defender can return to action soon once the thigh problem clears up. ⚽
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