CELTIC manager Martin O'Neill has said new signing Tomáš Čvančara could make his debut for the club against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday with Irish striker Johnny Kenny a doubt for the clash.
The Co. Sligo native picked up a calf strain after replacing Hyunjun Yang for the final 13 minutes of Celtic's impressive 2-2 draw away to Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday night.
With Kelechi Iheanacho having only just returned to training following his injury in the League Cup Final last month, Čvančara could be thrust into the action quicker than expected.
O'Neill even suggested the Czech striker could start on Sunday but was also wary of putting too much pressure on the loanee from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
"He trained yesterday with the B lads and he trained this morning and he's ready to go," said O'Neill at his press conference on Friday.
"I wouldn't want to put too much pressure on him. He's not going be the panacea for all our ills and woes and stuff like that but just let him get settled in.
"I think he'll make an impact — I hope he does, but again, I just wouldn't want to be putting extreme pressure on him to solve all our problems."
He added: "He's making the commitment, he wants to play well, obviously he wants to do well with us and maybe as a consequence he gets himself back into the Czech Republic team."
Čvančara joined Gladbach in 2023 for a reported fee of around €10m after scoring 19 league goals in 39 games for Sparta Prague.
He started his career in Germany in impressive fashion, scoring a hat-trick against Stuttgart in pre-season before notching a brace in each of his first two competitive games.
However, he managed only four more goals over the following two seasons and spent the first half of this season on loan at Antalyaspor in Turkey.
'Nine points would be a lot to claw back'
O’Neill revealed former Shamrock Rovers striker Kenny had gone for scans following his calf strain on Thursday and may be a doubt for the Hearts clash.
Meanwhile, Nigerian striker Iheanacho is available after missing eight games following the hamstring injury picked up in the defeat to St Mirren but is unlikely to start at Tynecastle.
"He trained today. I think that might be his second day," said O'Neill.
"He didn't travel with us [to Bologna], he's been doing some training.
"He did fine today, I'm glad to see him back, that helps us if that's the case.
"It might be a bit of a stretch to start him in a game at the moment but at least he's going to be available."
Sunday's game against Hearts is sure to be pivotal in the title race, with a win for Celtic putting them just three points behind the league leaders.
However, a defeat would leave them nine points off the pace and in third place should Rangers avoid defeat against Dundee at Ibrox.
While O'Neill didn't describe it as a must-win game, he conceded the prospect of overhauling a nine-point gap in the remaining 15 games after Sunday would be daunting.
"It's going to be very big, no question about it," he said.
"If we get beaten, it's a long way back for us — it's a bit of a trek at the minute.
"We would go out to try and win the game if we can and I think it's not the end of the road [if we lose] but nine points would be a lot to claw back."
He added: "Let me put it this way, I wish we were going into this game six points in front."
Celtic's top-of-the-table clash against Hearts at Tynecastle kicks off at 3pm GMT and will be shown live on Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 2.30pm.
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