Kolo Toure Ready for a Recall against Mönchengladbach, Confirms Rodgers

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers insists that the defender Kolo Toure will be ready for first team action when he is called up for the Champions League game against Borussia Monchengladbach.


The defender was highly self-critical of himself after making significant errors in the reverse fixture at Celtic Park. However, Rodgers, who has worked with Toure at Liverpool, says that the former Ivory Coast international remains a consummate professional who will be available when called upon. He fully expects Toure to return to the starting line-up for the upcoming visit to Germany.

It will be extremely crucial in Celtic’s hopes of qualifying for at least the Europa League by finishing in the third place. The 3-3 draw with Manchester City gave the team a lot of hope, but it 2-0 home loss against Monchengladbach has put them in an extremely tight situation. Both goals conceded by Celtic in the home game were as a result of mistakes by Toure. Since that defeat, Toure has not been part of the Celtic team.

One of the risks for the Scottish club will be that the 35-year-old may be feeling tight after missing the action for the last 10 days. On the positive side, his experience will be a major boost for Celtic if they are to claim an unlikely away win in Europe.

“He will always give his best. He was devastated after the game. He was man enough to stand up and say that. He’s a true warrior and you don’t get to achieve what he has in the game without that strong mentality. Any game I’ve ever had, especially away from home in tough places, he’s been one of the leading players, so if I need to call upon him he’ll be ready. We will probably be expected to lose, like we were the Manchester City game, but we have to ensure we can impose our style on to them and put them on the back foot,” said Rodgers.