Peter Grant thinks Haissem Hassan may have been reacting to his substitution against Beşiktaş rather than an injury. The summer recruit from Celtic, signed for £6million from Real Oviedo, was then left out of the squad for the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock ahead of the international break.
Grant's reading of the Besiktas exit
Grant said he saw Hassan walking off in the Besiktas game and wondered if he was in a huff because he got so little time. He also said, "I don’t know if he was injured at the weekend; I saw him walking off in the Besiktas game. I didn’t know if he was in a huff because he got so little time."
He added that the omission told him Hassan was not injured, because Martin O'Neill would usually have said if the winger had pulled up with something. Grant was careful enough not to insist it was definitely a huff, but the suggestion was plain enough: the reaction looked more like frustration than fitness trouble.
Celtic's wing competition
The selection picture is tighter with Yang and Jota back in the mix. Grant pointed to their returns as part of the squeeze on the wings, and Celtic started Jota and Camilo Duran in wide areas against Kilmarnock, with Kasper Hogh leading the line.
James Forrest, Yang and Sebastian Tounekti came off the bench, while Callum Osmand also appeared as a substitute on the flank. Grant's point to Hassan was direct, too: if a winger is not giving enough going forward or coming back, he can be replaced.
That leaves Hassan in a straightforward fight for minutes after an awkward week. The main issue now is whether Celtic see the Besiktas reaction as a one-off or as part of a wider selection problem before their next league outing.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
