Celtic welcome Dundee to Parkhead this Saturday in the Scottish Premiership. The Bhoys will be eager to secure three points and win their second home game of the season.

Off the back of a 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox, Brendan Rodgers’ men will be high on confidence, and going into the game, the Irishman gave a significant injury update. He spoke about several members of the squad, whose recoveries are going well.

Firstly and most positively, Rodgers confirmed that Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate will play this weekend. He said (Sky Sports): “Reo Hatate will be back which is great news for us.”

The 25-year-old last played for the Bhoys at Pittodrie but will come back into the fray this week. Along with Hatate, Marco Tilio is making strides in his return.

He has yet to play for the Scottish champions due to injury but is now in training. On the Australian, Rodgers said: “Marco Tilio’s been back now training but he missed pre-season so we’re just waiting for the right moment again for him.”

Many supporters are eager to see Tilio in action as down under, he received many plaudits. He is just 22 years of age, but with Liel Abada confirmed to be out for a long while, Tilio may get a number of opportunities.

Finally, the Celtic gaffer spoke about the injuries in defence. Rodgers revealed that the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Yuki Kobayashi are making good progress. He said: “Cameron Carter-Vickers is doing very well, hopefully on schedule to be back beginning of October, Maik Nawrocki obviously a bit longer. Kobayashi is back now training as well.”

Despite the long list of unavailabilities at the back, Liam Scales and Gustaf Lagerbielke put in formidable performances for Celtic at Ibrox. Nevertheless, the returns of Carter-Vickers and the like will be greatly welcomed.

Rodgers also has new signing Nat Phillips available to him. This, combined with the fact that the likes of Hatate, Carter-Vickers, and Tilio could be available soon, means the injury situation is beginning to look slightly more positive, in spite of the recent news surrounding Abada.