Ryan Christie in Celtic Return Hopes as Odsonne Edouard Rangers’ availability secret deepens

Celtic is hoping star Ryan Christie can take another 11-hour dramatic break to face Rangers at Parkhead on Saturday.

Record sport The champions believe Christie should be cleared to compete in the first Old Firm derby of the season despite being instructed by government health officials to self-isolate for a fortnight eleven days ago.

And they’re closely watching Arsenal’s attempt to provide Kieran Tierney for their Premier League showdown against Manchester City this weekend.

Both Christie and Tierney were ordered to leave Scotland’s squad last week after former Celtic teammate Stuart Armstrong tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the semi-final night of the Euro 2020 play-offs against Israel.

While Armstrong would be an option for Southampton this weekend, Tierney and Christie were ordered to remain under effective house arrest after a 10-day quarantine period.

But today, Gunner boss Mikel Arteta insisted he hoped to have Tierney on his squad for the trip to Etihad. And Celtic Top Brass awaits developments as manager Neil Lennon prepares for a table showdown in which his city rivals have already lost at least two players to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are still holding some talks with the authorities,” said the Arsenal boss.

“It becomes very complicated when you send players abroad and obviously lose control.

“Some authorities have different rules than the actual ones in the Premier League.”

In any case, Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed were eliminated. The Israeli duo remain in their homeland after contracting the disease while serving on international service. Star striker Odsonne Edouard could also miss the game after taking a positive smear after signing up for the French under the age of 21.

And while Edouard’s availability remains unclear, Celtic hasn’t given up hope that Christie will get the green light to play after a string of negative tests over the past week.

A source said: “We are closely monitoring the situation with Kieran and Arsenal but we will have to wait and see how these discussions go. Obviously, if Arsenal get permission to play on Saturday it’s hard to see why that doesn’t apply to Ryan. “

Oddly enough, tonight there was still no confirmation of when Edouard will arrive back in Glasgow after a 10-day isolation period in Paris.

But Celtic quickly hired a private jet and will fly keeper Vasilis Barkas back to the country in the early hours of Friday after fears the £ 5million new boy could be stranded by an air traffic control strike in Athens.

Barkas was on the bench when Greece drew 0-0 in a Nations League clash against Kosovo on Wednesday evening and was scheduled to fly back to Glasgow at 7 a.m. this morning.

However, two days of industrial action were due to start just an hour later, and Celtic gave up to make sure he wasn’t bogged down in Athens.

Neil Lennon, meanwhile, insists that football bosses need to reconsider the security issues facing players around Covid-19 during international breaks.

The manager told Sky Sports Scotland: “It can’t go on as it is because we’re losing too many players. Not just us, but also many other clubs.

“Countries too. Take a look at the Czech Republic, for example, they had to completely change their squad in the preliminary round.

“It completely affects the quality and integrity of the competition.

“I find it very difficult to say that you will not play for your country. I would never want to do that to a player.

“But these are unprecedented times and we are in a very difficult situation.

“Even at home, it looks like the virus is rising. Ideally, we don’t want them to travel, but we’re not going to point a finger at them and say you can’t leave. “