Celtic midfielder Scott Brown will not be risked against Rangers tomorrow if there is any chance he could worsen his tweaked hamstring.
The Scotland international, who has impressed since joining from Hibernian for £4.4million in the summer, sustained the injury while on international duty for Scotland against Ukraine on Saturday.
Boss Gordon Strachan has denied Celtic have an injury crisis ahead of the crucial clash at Ibrox - but did admit there are a few players who are struggling. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Paul Hartley and Mark Wilson will all miss the match, while Gary Caldwell still needs to prove his fitness if he is to provide cover at right-back.
Strachan said: "Crisis is too big a word but we definitely have problems. Jim O'Brien eventually played at the back against Gretna in our last league match and he was right-back number six, I think. Jan and Paul can't do any training and Scott hasn't been able to work with us since he came back from the Scotland squad after the win over Ukraine. We'll look at Gary later to see if he has any chance of playing against Rangers but Scott won't be risked if there's any chance we could hamper him for even longer."
O'Brien, who has yet to start a first-team game for Celtic, has already declared his candidacy for the right-back slot - even though he prefers playing further up the park. However, Caldwell is likely to get the nod if he recovers from a knee problem - and then keep the position for next week's trip to Benfica.
Unsurprisingly given the injury situation, Strachan has questioned the logic of playing the game at 12.30pm on a Saturday when the national team has played just days before.
09 10 2007
Celtic duo Paul Hartley and Gary Caldwell have both been ruled out of Scotland's Euro 2008 Group B qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday.
Alex McLeish's side go into the game at Hampden Park sitting imperiously atop their group after beating France last month, but will have to do without the Parkhead pair for the visit of Ukraine.
Midfielder Hartley is suffering from a hamstring injury and will also miss the trip to Georgia on October 17 as he is likely to be out until the end of the month according to reports.
Caldwell could feature against Georgia though as he has not been definitively ruled out of the trip to Tbilisi with knee and ankle problems.
Scotland are also missing Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher due to injury and suspension as they look to tighten their grip on Group B.
McLeish's men are currently one point ahead of Italy and two ahead of France with three games left to play in their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
04 10 2007
AC Milan accept the incident involving Dida at the end of their 2-1 defeat at Celtic did not affect the result and will therefore not make an official complaint, but UEFA could still act.
An 89th-minute strike by Scott McDonald gave the Scottish champions their first win over the Rossoneri in seven attempts but his late goal sparked off a controversial incident involving Milan keeper Dida who had pushed Gary Caldwell's shot back into the path of the former Motherwell striker.
A supporter rushed on to the pitch and appeared to brush his hand against the Brazilian who, after initially chasing the invader, collapsed to the ground in a heap.
After some medical attention, Dida was replaced by Zeljko Kalac seconds before the final whistle blew.
Celtic will carry out a "full investigation" but they will have to wait until Friday to find out if referee Markus Merk or UEFA delegate Andreas Akkelides have included the incident in their match reports.
Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani confirmed the Serie A side would not be looking to reverse the result.
"It's a decision that I've agreed on with president Silvio Berlusconi," he told BBC Online.
Local police, meanwhile, are investigating the incident.
In 1984 Celtic were ordered by UEFA to re-stage the second leg of a European Cup Winners' Cup third round tie against Rapid Vienna at least 100 miles from Parkhead after a bottle had been launched at Rudolf Weinhofer who fell to the ground despite the missile landing several feet away.
The Hoops, down 3-1 from the first leg, had been leading 3-0 before the incident and they lost the replayed game at Old Trafford.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan refused to let the incident spoil what was an amazing result for the Hoops and Scottish football, coming as it did on the back of Rangers' remarkable 3-0 win over Lyon in France the night before.
He said: "I never see anything. I'm like the fourth official, I never see anything at any time."
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti played down the incident involving Dida saying: "I didn't see it at the time, I have only seen it on a replay. "It had nothing to do with the result. I don't know if we will be appealing to UEFA but I think not."
It was a night of high drama which began when out-of-favour midfielder Jiri Jarosik was named in the Celtic side for the first time since last April.
The former Chelsea star played his part in a game that only came to life after the interval.
Hoops captain Stephen McManus gave the home side the lead in the 62nd minute but six minutes later referee Merk adjudged Lee Naylor to have grappled too enthusiastically with Milan skipper Massimo Ambrosini inside the penalty area and Kaka stroked home the spot-kick.
But McDonald's late goal sealed Celtic's first victory of this campaign and set them up for their next match against Benfica in Lisbon.
Strachan claimed that "McDonald deserved his goal" while stating that Jarosik was "excellent" but the Parkhead boss will be hoping that all his side's good work will not be undone by UEFA and one over-exuberant supporter.
