John McGinn could face a race against time to play against Celtic after suffering a hamstring injury.
The Aston Villa skipper limped off after just 19 minutes on Saturday as the midfielder pulled up during the Premier League meeting with Leicester City. McGinn, 30, required medical attention on the pitch but was unable to continue as he was replaced by Jacob Ramsey. And now, the Scotland hero could be a major doubt for the mouthwatering Champions League visit of Celtic on January 29.
Lifelong Hoops fan McGinn admitted previously that playing his boyhood heroes under the lights at Villa Park was the dream draw and revealed friends and family have been begging him for tickets. He said: “Obviously a lot of my family and friends are wanting tickets but they’re not to be trusted!
“I mean they’ll send us a message, can you get us tickets? And I say, aye but you can’t cheer a Celtic goal, and then I don’t get a reply. I’m afraid I’m the home end, but though it’ll be strange I’m obviously looking forward to it and hopefully we can get the win.
“Everyone keeps saying to me they hope both teams are qualified, which is a possibility. But I think when you’ve got an essential battle at Britain, as they call it, it’s always going to be feisty.”
However, it remains to be seen whether the ex-Hibs star will recover in time to lead out the Villains against Celtic in the Champions League group stage finale.