No, Ange Postecoglou Has Not Ruled Jota Out For Celtic’s League Cup Final.

In spite of headlines to the contrary this evening. Jota has not been ruled out of the League Cup Final.

I admit that it doesn’t sound good, and that the manager confirmed that he would miss a few weeks does make it sound as if he’s not going to be fit for the big game, but Ange has gone out of his way not to rule him out for that game.

Jota will be given every opportunity to get fit for that match.

One headline tonight screams that he’s definitely out; I am sure that the rag in question, as well as some of its writers, would dearly love that to be true and it may well be that he doesn’t make the game, but at the time of writing this Jota is still in the running to play in that match. To suggest otherwise is patently false.

Whilst Celtic’s superb away performance today has proved that we can cope – and cope very well – in the absence of the player, obviously we would want him to be fit.

The enemies of the club would obviously prefer that he wasn’t, either for the Hibs game nor for the one that is coming up at New Year; he will almost certainly be playing in that one.

Jota has been the player of the year so far, and it would be a blow if he wasn’t available for the final, both for the club and for the man himself, of course. Ange will have a plan for that eventuality though and I think we’d go into the game without fear anyway.

But, and I make no apology for repeating this, the player has not yet been ruled out, no matter what hysterical headlines have said to the contrary.

There is still a chance that he makes it, although that chance is a smaller one than we thought it was.

Keep your fingers crossed folks. Either way, we’ll be alright.