Celtic defenders Jozo Simunovic and Mikael Lustig have handed the Scottish champions a big setback ahead of what is a crucial month in their campaign this season.

Simunovic, 23, has been ruled out of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Belgium and Estonia after he picked up an hamstring problem while fellow defender Mikael Lustig has also suffered a knock before his Sweden side’s World Cup qualifying games with Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

This news will come as a big blow to Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, who has had to deal with a lot of defensive injuries since the start of the new season.

The next few matches would be pivotal to their season, especially in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) where they meet German champions Bayern Munich on October 18 in Germany in what isthe first of a double-header between the two sides, with Bayern visiting Celtic Park on October 31.