Injury heartache for Kennedy

'Serious injury'
The 20-year-old sustained the injury 14 minutes into the 2-1 defeat by Romania at Hampden Park, in a tackle with Viorel Ganea. "My knee is in bits at the moment," said Kennedy. "It was fantastic to have been picked for my country but now I'm just totally gutted."

Surgery needed
Kennedy was told by Celtic medics on Thursday that he may not be able to play again for 12 months, so severe is the damage to his left knee. A statement on the Celtic website confirmed: "John has multiple injuries to his left knee including damage to the cruciate and lateral ligaments. He needs surgery and could be out for a year."

Impressive form
Kennedy became the youngest player to represent the Glasgow club when Kenny Dalglish handed him his debut four years ago, and he had been in impressive form in recent weeks - not least with a commanding display as Celtic left FC Barcelona's Camp Nou with a 0-0 draw to advance to last eight of the UEFA Cup.

'Pretty devastating'
"I'm still in shock, it's so hard to take in. Everything has been going brilliantly for me in the last few weeks so this is pretty devastating," he said. Celtic play Villarreal CF in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on 8 and 14 April.