Brendan Rodgers will seek showdown talks with Leigh Griffiths to ask why the player was at a racetrack when he was supposed to be receiving treatment for several problems in his personal life.

And the Celtic manager will remind his player that he is not on holiday, to use his own word, and that the club continue to pay the striker a big wage while he is out of the team - with no time limit on when he will return to the first-team.

Rodgers, speaking yesterday in Dubai, made it clear he was not impressed with the pictures of his troubled player on a day out with friends at Newcastle last weekend and spoke of Griffiths needing to keep “a low profile” while working on his well-publicised issues.

This really could be the last chance for a footballer who has been well supported by Celtic but who many inside the club believe to have crossed a final line by being seen at all places in a betting environment when, along with challenges to his mental health, Griffiths has an issue with gambling.

READ MORE: Neil Cameron: Leigh Griffiths gets my sympathy but why does he make his life so damn difficult

Rodgers said: “I was obviously made aware of it but haven’t seen the pictures of it. The club are dealing with it, it’s a private matter.

“Leigh was off on grounds of his health, so the club is supporting him with that and I’ve nothing much more to say on it until I, one, speak to Leigh. And two see something - but that will not be until I get back.

“I just need to see where it is all at because he is not on holiday. I think it’s one where I will take a deep breath and look at it.

“It’s very important he understands why he is off and why he has been given the time off. Why he has to maximise that time in terms of getting better.

"That’s about getting specialist help and lying low and focussing on the simple things in your life that will allow you to be better.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet. A designated person at the club is dealing with everything with regards to Leigh and I will pick that up when I get back.”

Rodgers must have lost count of the number of times he’s had to speak about Griffiths after negative publicity.

Time and again he has reprimanded this popular figure with over 100 goals for Celtic in private and public.

But even he has a limit to how much patience he can show to the one player who has constantly given him problems in his two-and-a-half years at Celtic.

Rodgers said: “There is no timescale (on Griffiths’s return). It’s all based around how he is feeling and the situations in his life. Ultimately he is a Celtic player and the club are paying him a lot of money.

“But in these instances, you have to support the player. Money doesn’t count for anything if the player isn’t in good health. We need to support him which the club is doing amazingly.

“But there is also a responsibility for Leigh Griffiths. I know its ongoing with the club and I have no timeline with this kind of stuff.

“It’s a bit of responsibility. You take a deep breath, assess where you are at and then take the responsibility. Players who have dealt with any types of issues, it’s admitting that responsibility and knowing where you are at, really.

“It’s the only way you have move forward, really. It is important if you have these issues, there are ways in which to deal with it.”