Boruc out for three weeks as hoops get 'keeper back-up
Tuesday November 03 2009
Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has undergone knee surgery which will keep him out for at least three weeks.
The Poland international has missed Celtic's last three matches with a thigh injury, so the club decided to put him in for the operation to fix an ongoing knee problem.
The surgery took place after Celtic were granted permission by UEFA to involve back-up goalkeeper Dominic Cervi for the Europa League clash in Hamburg on Thursday.
The American was not in Celtic's 25-man squad for the competition but he will be on the bench in Germany as Lukasz Zaluska continues in goal.
Manager Tony Mowbray admitted : "We would not have agreed to Artur having the operation if the clearance for Dominic had not been granted.
"Now the hope is Artur will be back in time for the league game against Dundee United in three weeks."
Boruc will definitely miss the SPL trip to Falkirk on Sunday, but the Tannadice clash on November 22 is Celtic's next match after that.
Meanwhile, former Celtic midfielder John Collins admits Mowbray's "chopping and changing" is impacting on performances -- but he insists the Parkhead manager has no option.
Mowbray has used 27 players in his first three months in charge and made a total of 24 changes to his starting line-up in the past seven matches, only two of which Celtic won.
Collins admits the situation is far from ideal but he insists every other boss would do the same in their formative months in charge.
"Any new manager that goes to a new club has got to assess all of his players, try them in different positions and combinations," Collins said. "There is no manager going to come into a new team and pick 11 players and stick with them.
"Tony is only doing what any other manager would do -- trying out every player before he makes decisions on who he wants to keep and who he wants to move on."
Irish Independent
