Post by Taxigirl on Dec 18, 2003 10:25:02 GMT
Wales striker John Hartson faces a late fitness test for a calf strain ahead of Celtic's CIS Insurance Cup quarter-final against Hibernian.
Didier Agathe and Jackie McNamara are still out injured as Celtic attempt to set up a semi-final against Rangers.
A stomach bug that makes Paul Fenwick doubtful is the latest blow for an Edinburgh side with home advantage.
Ian Murray, Yannick Zambernardi and Roland Edge are all out injured, while Colin Murdock is suspended.
Manager Bobby Williamson will be hoping that Fenwick will recover as the out-of-favour Canada international would provide useful cover at Easter Road considering the absence of three defenders and the versatile Murray.
Captain Murray will see a specialist on Christmas Eve in a bid to get to the bottom of his stomach problem.
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill has so far used the CIS Cup as a way of giving fringe players match fitness, but the competition now has added significance.
A potentially money-spinning British Cup between the trophy winners and England's equivalent League Cup competition could be introduced at the end of the current campaign.
Hartson could therefore be involved should he recover from the injury he picked up in the Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyonnais and forced his absence against Dundee at the weekend.
Agathe, who has a hamstring injury, and McNamara, who has an elbow problem, missed both those games.
Celtic (from): Douglas, Mjallby, Kennedy, Balde, Varga, Miller, Lennon, Maloney, Smith, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Sutton, Marshall, Lambert, Wallace.
Hibernian (from): Andersson, Smith, Doumbe, Whittaker, Brebner, Thomson, Glass, Riordan, O'Connor, Brown, Hyldgaard, McManus, Nicol, Dobbie, Baillie, Orman.