Caley Thistle have been dealt a blow ahead of tomorrow’s match against Celtic at Parkhead after midfielder Aaron Doran was ruled out with a groin injury.
Doran suffered the injury in training this week, having only returned to the starting line-up for Caley Jags’ for the last two matches after working his way back to fitness following a 13-month knee injury absence.
The Irishman joins defender Carl Tremarco in missing the trip to Glasgow after he limped off after 10 minutes of Caley Jags’ 3-3 draw against Hearts on Saturday with a hamstring injury.
Doran was particularly impressive in last weekend’s 3-3 draw against Hearts, in which he netted his first goal since May 2015 but manager Richie Foran is confident the pair will return for Inverness’ match against Aberdeen on November 19 after next weekend’s international break.
Foran, who also confirmed he has all but finalised a deal to extend forward Alex Fisher’s contract until the end of the season, said: “It’s disappointing to lose Aaron but it’s only a grade one groin strain.
“He really impressed against Hearts. In the Motherwell game he was a bit off in terms of his fitness but against Hearts he was one of our standout players.
“He will be a miss but we can bring the likes of Billy King back in, or Larnell Cole. We’ve got two out and two in. That’s the joys of having a really strong team which I believe we have.”
Celtic have made great strides under manager Brendan Rodgers this season and have stormed nine points clear of Rangers at the top of the Premiership, with Caley Jags the only side to take points off the Hoops in the league this term, in the sides’ 2-2 draw at Caledonian Stadium in September.
Despite their excellent form Foran reckons the gap between Celtic and the rest of the league has been overstated and he added: “We always seem to do well against the so-called bigger clubs.
“We enjoy it. The boys in the dressing-room want to go out and express themselves. They want to go out and show they’re good enough to maybe play in those sides.
“That’s what I want from the boys on Saturday, to go and impress, because I’m sure some of our players are good enough to play in that Celtic team.
“When I played for Motherwell there was a real fear-factor going to Ibrox and Parkhead. They had really strong squads, maybe players that would intimidate you as well. I remember John Hartson and Chris Sutton at Celtic, lads who had presence about them.
“Over the years, with Rangers being out of the league, I think that fear-factor has gone.
“The way Celtic are at the moment they’re maybe going to get that back, the way they’re playing. But I don’t think there’s a huge gap. It would be quite disrespectful to Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts to say there is early on in the season.”
