IN A WEEK in which Celtic’s injury pressures show no sign of abating there was at least some comfort for Ange Postecoglou as striker Giorgos Giakoumakis made an impression upon his return from injury.

With Daizen Maeda called up for international duty and Kyogo Furuhashi still toiling with a hamstring injury that Postecoglou was reluctant to put a timeframe on, Celtic will be without two of their strikers for the critical three-game sequence that sees them go away to Tynecastle on Wednesday night before hosting Dundee United and then Rangers.

The table-topping clash against the Ibrox side on home soil will take up much of the focal point now but it would be remiss to discount the potential for slip-ups before then with Tynecastle on Wednesday a potentially fraught evening for Celtic.

Of concern, though, will be the loss of Callum McGregor who has been quietly pulling the strings for Celtic this season in the middle of the park. His leadership as well as his ability to get Postecoglou’s side up the park will be a significant loss after what looked like a hellish injury on a night where some shocking challenges were evident against Alloa Athletic.

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Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi – himself a victim of a tackle that ought to have merited a red card – can come into the middle of the park and it is worth noting that Tom Rogic is also now off on international duty.

But back to Giakoumakis. The Greek striker’s second goal for the club following his £2.5million move from Dutch club VVV-Venlo as he side-footed a perfectly executed Liam Scales cross could well have set him up for a decent run in the side. Certainly, if he wants to make an impression this would be the time to do it.

The win over Alloa was only his third start for Celtic, a reflection of just how disruptive his season has been to date because of injury and also because of the form of those in front of him. He ought to have had at least one more to show from his weekend efforts after he scooped an effort wide immediately after opening the scoring.

It was a common complaint and not for the first time this season. Celtic’s failure to kill teams off despite enjoying the bulk of the chances has created a jittery finale in more than one game this term and, going into the key weeks of the season, it is an affliction that needs to be addressed.