Celtic resigned to Boruc absence

Celtic FC goalkeeper Artur Boruc will miss Thursday's crucial UEFA Europa League Group C match at Hamburger SV after undergoing knee surgery which will keep him on the sidelines for up to a month.

Crucial fixture
The 29-year-old Poland custodian has missed Celtic's last three games and went under the knife for a tidy-up operation once the club received confirmation from UEFA that Dominic Cervi could be added to their UEFA Europa League squad list as back-up to Łukasz Załuska. "We would not have agreed to Artur having the operation if the clearance for Dominic had not been granted," said manager Tony Mowbray. "Now the hope is Artur will be back in time for the league game against Dundee United in three weeks."

Vital game
Celtic must win on German soil for the first time in their history to revive their hopes of qualifying from Group C. The club's record in Germany so far is seven defeats and a goalless draw against Werder Bremen 21 years ago. The Hoops lie bottom of Group C and will lose any chance of progressing to the knockout phase if a defeat in Hamburg coincides with a Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC win at SK Rapid Wien.