Thompson wings out of contention

Celtic FC will not be able to call on winger Alan Thompson for their opening UEFA Champions League fixtures after he damaged ankle ligaments in a friendly on Wednesday.

Ligament damage
The Englishman faces eight weeks out after he was carried off on a stretcher just five minutes into Celtic's 3-1 home friendly defeat by AFC Ajax. A scan yesterday confirmed extensive ligament damage to the 28-year-old's left ankle.

Opponents decided
Thompson will miss the club's Champions League third qualifying round fixture against either Swiss champions FC Basel or MŠK Zilina from Slovakia as the two legs are scheduled for 13/14 August and 27/28 August. Thompson also seems certain to sit out at least Celtic's opening group stage game should the Scottish champions advance into it.

'Occupational hazard'
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill, who bought Thompson from Aston Villa FC for €3.9m two years ago, said of the injury: "It's not broken but its still ligament damage. Pre-season is an occupational hazard - you have to get fit some way, you have to play the games and you run that risk of injuries, but there is no other way."

Injury plagued
Celtic's summer has been a troubled one. Defenders Joos Valgaeren, Stephen Crainey and Dianbobo Baldé are all struggling to regain fitness ahead of the Glasgow club's opening Scottish Premier League game against Dunfermline Athletic FC on 3 August.