AS Neil Lennon enters cold storage for a spell, at least Chris Sutton will be able to offer him his warmed-up seat in the stand. The blow which is Lennon's three-match ban is offset for Celtic by the return of the Englishman for tonight's CIS Cup third-round match with Falkirk at Parkhead.
The versatile 32-year-old has been sidelined since fracturing his cheekbone 17minutes into their humiliating 5-0 defeat by Artmedia Bratislava in late July.
His return from injury will see him slot into the heart of midfield in place of Lennon, but Tommy Burns, Celtic's firstteam coach, believes such is Sutton's adaptability in the squad that it will be like having three new players back.
He said: "It's likely Chris will play and that will be a mega bonus for us. He provides great options for the manager and can do an equally good job in several positions which means getting him back is like getting three players back. I have never known a player like him.
"He has so much composure as a central defender, behind the front two or as a striker.
Given Neil's situation, it is especially good to have him back.
"Alongside Henrik Larsson, he's probably been the most valued player here over the past five years. His consistency, versatility and performances at European level have shown he's a top-class footballer."
Gordon Strachan, the Celtic manager, is likely to field his strongest line-up tonight - at least to begin with. A repeat of last season's 8-1vanquishing of Falkirk at the same stage of the competition is highly unlikely.
Celtic's 3-1 victory in the league at Parkhead last month, in which Falkirk scored first through Darryl Duffy, showed how far John Hughes's team have come.
Burns signed Hughes as a player for Celtic in 1995 and was well aware of his leadership qualities, if not his potential managerial credentials. "I didn't see him as a future manager, but he clearly was starting to think deeply about the game and the characteristics of good football teams, " said Burns.
"We were short at that time and needed a bit of character and oomph. Yogi had a fantastic year for us, but I was given money the following year and brought in Alan Stubbs, so we made it easy forYogi to go to Hibs.
"He's done a fantastic job at Falkirk and they pass the ball well in addition to having a good system. He has stuck to his principles, has them playing in a manner he likes and he's honest. What you see is what you get with him."
It is a year to the day since Celtic's 8-1 drubbing of tonight's visitors, a night which holds fond memories for winger Ross Wallace. The youngster scored a hat-trick that night, which remains the high point of his Parkhead career. He failed to hold down a place for the remainder of last season under Martin O'Neill and has appeared just once underGordon Strachan.
If the 20-year-old has any chance of carving out a career at Parkhead, then he may have to develop something of Sutton's versatility. Strachan has already earmarked a more defensive role forWallace, who is looking to the example of Arsenal's marauding left-back, Ashley Cole, as to how he will try to develop his own game.
"It's a chance for the likes of myself to to get a game and try and impress, " Wallace said.
"The manager fancies me as a left-back, so I might be in for a change of position. You look at the likes of Cole and you see there are opportunities for them to go forward and I think that's the way we play too.
"I just have to be more aware of the defensive side of things and I know my skills in that department aren't the greatest at the moment.
"I've been doing double sessions working on my positioning with the manager and I have played the last two games at left-back for the reserves, so I have to keep learning."
Despite Falkirk's 5-0 thrashing by Motherwell at the weekend, Wallace knows Celtic are unlikely to enjoy the same domination as this time last year. He said: "They were well beaten at the weekend so they'll be wanting to get a good result and get their confidence back."
Celtic v Falkirk
Tonight, 7.45pm, Celtic Park. TV: BBC1
Herald prediction Celtic 3 Falkirk 0
Subs Marshall, Beattie, Maloney, Du Wei, Virgo Update Chris Sutton could return, having not played since fracturing his cheekbone in the Champions League qualifier against Artmedia Bratislava in July. China defender Du Wei is also added to the squad and could make his Celtic Park debut. Alan Thompson is out after twisting his ankle at the weekend
Subs Hill, McBreen, Gow, McPherson, McStay Update Falkirk have no fresh injury concerns. Midfielder John O'Neil is still ruled out with the back injury which has kept him sidelined since August 13.
Goalkeeper Allan Ferguson is also ruled out with an Achilles problem which has kept him out of action this season
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