Celtic receive welcome injury boost ahead of return from international break

There had been some concern surrounding Hassan at the beginning of the international break after Egypt boss Hossam Hassan revealed that the Hoops attacker had been undergoing intensive work with the national team’s medical staff.

The 23-year-old recovered sufficiently to start against Angola on Friday and retained his place four days later for Egypt’s AFCON qualifier against South Sudan in Juba.

Hassan played 53 minutes as Egypt cruised to a convincing 5-0 victory before being replaced during the second half.

Ahram Online reported that Hassan was one of two Egyptian players withdrawn at that stage, alongside Ahmed Fattouh, who left the pitch after suffering an injury.

Crucially for Celtic, there was no suggestion that Hassan’s substitution was related to another injury problem.

There was also another encouraging sign for the Hoops, with the winger trusted to start on the artificial surface at Juba Stadium despite requiring treatment earlier in the international window.

Egypt were sufficiently concerned about the pitch that Mohamed Salah did not travel for the fixture, with Reuters reporting that the Egyptian FA decided to leave the Liverpool star out because of the artificial turf.

Hassan, meanwhile, was cleared to play more than 50 minutes and has now started consecutive matches for his country.