Major Tom Rogic blow; Chelsea target to sign new Celtic deal

Tomas Rogic: Linked with move to Leeds

Tomas Rogic: Faces spell on the sidelines

Tom Rogic will be out for “a few months” after having an operation on his ankle, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has announced.

The 24-year-old Hoops midfielder last played on December 17 in the 2-1 win over Dundee where he came off at the interval and suffered the setback during training.

Ahead of the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against Inverness on Saturday, Rodgers said: “Tom Rogic will be out probably for the next few months.

“He had to have an operation. It was unfortunate, it was right at the end of training, the same spot where he had it before.

“His foot stuck in the ground and he did a full twist on it.

“It was either going through the same procedure as before or have an operation so he went to London for an operation and it is all done and he is on the way to recovery now.

“It is a big disappointment because he is a player I was looking forward to seeing back.

“He will be back for the end of the season, it is a disappointment that he will miss up to eight weeks.”

 

Rodgers confirmed that midfielder Stuart Armstrong (hamstring) and striker Leigh Griffiths (calf) will again be on the sidelines but will “definitely” be ready for next week.

 

New Craig Gordon deal

However, he had some good news for Celtic fans when he revealed that 34-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon, linked with Chelsea during the January window, is “very close” to signing a new deal.

He said: “I have spoken to the club and it is very close, just wrapping up one or two details I believe, 99.9 per cent is all agreed.

“It will be great news once that is complete.

“Once he does sign and hopefully everything gets done fairly soon, then I will be absolutely delighted.

“That is the main signing in the January window as such.

“He is a real pivotal part of how I want to work. I have made it clear since I came in how I wanted to impose my style and the importance of the goalkeeper within that.

“And I look at him now, seven months on from when I came in, and he is a totally different character both in personality, character and his output in the team.

“So to have that assurance for the next few years is very important for the club and another sign of players who are committing to us because they believe in what we are doing.

“So hopefully we can get that sorted and look forward to seeing Craig performing to the level he has been.”