CELTIC star Ryan Christie required urgent groin surgery after Sunday’s defeat to Rangers, according to reports.
The Hoops ace, 24, was eventually replaced by Leigh Griffiths after being involved in an earlier tussle with Alfredo Morelos.
And according to the Daily Mail, he was then rushed to hospital to undergo an operation on his groin.
Post-match examinations on Christie reportedly showed the need for immediate medical attention.
It came after he had reportedly been forced to try and play through the pain following his battle with the Rangers striker.
It’s not yet clear how long Christie could be out injured for.
Celtic are not back in action until they face Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup on January 18, following a winter break training camp in Dubai.
Neil Lennon’s side also have a Europa League Round of 32 clash with Copenhagen scheduled in February.
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While Steve Clarke will hope Christie is back in plenty of time for Scotland’s Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Israel.
Meanwhile, Christie’s father Charlie – a former Inverness star – has insisted his son will bounce back from his penalty miss against Rangers.
The Celtic star’s spot kick was saved by Allan McGregor in a game that ultimately ended 2-1 to the visitors.
He told SunSport: “Sunday’s result and penalty miss was a deep disappointment for Ryan and the rest of the team.
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“It was a decent save by Allan McGregor. It was at a good height. Ryan’s gutted, of course, but more for the defeat.
“He’s the designated penalty-taker and it will be up to the manager and the coaching staff if he takes the next one.
“But I know this for sure, Ryan won’t shy away from the responsibility if it’s still his.
“He’ll happily take the ball and will be determined to make up for the miss against Rangers.”
Due to a production error, this article previously included a photograph which was a year old. It was removed on the morning of publication, after the error was drawn to our attention.
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