Celtic were surprised to see Haissem Hassan named in Egypt’s starting line-up on Friday, only hours after his national manager had said the winger was unavailable because of injury.
The 24-year-old had joined up with his international team-mates, but an update from the Egypt camp appeared to suggest that he had suffered a fitness problem. Hossam Hassan had said the Celtic player required “intensive treatment” and that his latest issue had prevented him from linking up with the squad.
However, Hassan was subsequently selected to face Angola, starting alongside Mohamed Salah. He played for about an hour as Egypt were held to a goalless draw.
His involvement has inevitably raised questions over the precise nature of the problem that had reportedly ruled him out earlier in the day. From Celtic’s perspective, though, the key point is that Hassan was fit enough to take part in a competitive international fixture.
Martin O’Neill will hope the winger can complete his international commitments without suffering any further setback before Celtic return to Premiership action against Motherwell.
Hassan’s first appearances in Glasgow have been unconvincing, but Celtic will be hoping he can rediscover his best form and help improve the team’s fortunes.
The expectation is that any issue affecting him will have cleared up by the time Celtic play again, particularly after a difficult run of performances in recent weeks.
Celtic are also monitoring the condition of Yang Hyun-jun, who has confirmed that he sustained a hamstring injury while away with the South Korea national team.