SCOTT BROWN'S gamble to play through the pain in a vain attempt to help Celtic retain their SPL title has backfired.
SCOTT BROWN'S gamble to play through the pain in a vain attempt to help Celtic retain their SPL title has backfired.
The Scotland dynamo is paying the price as the ankle injury he carried for several weeks at the end of the campaign will now require surgery.
That will force Brown to miss the start of pre-season training when Tony Mowbray gathers his squad on July 1 - and is already casting doubts about the midfield powerhouse's participation in the vital Champions League qualifiers which kick off on July 28/29.
Scotland boss George Burley will also be anxious to see how quickly Brown can recover as he would be a key figure in the World Cup qualifier against Norway on August 12.
But it is Mowbray who is monitoring the situation closest of all. The new Celtic boss knows he will already be without captain Stephen McManus for the start of the season after he also went under the knife to repair the damage to a knee injury he tried to play through.
And, with Gary Caldwell suspended for the opening game of the SPL campaign at Aberdeen, the smooth transition Mowbray had hoped to make after replacing Gordon Strachan is already encountering serious obstacles.
With Shunsuke Nakamura moving to Espanyol, and doubts remaining about the future of out-of-contract players Paul Hartley and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, around half the first-choice starting team used by Strachan could be unavailable to Mowbray when the action begins for real.
He will assess the condition of the rest of his squad when they report back next week, but already it is becoming clear the transfer business already simmering in the background may have to have the heat turned up.
Wages are available with Naka, Bobo Balde and possibly Hartley and Vennegoor all freeing up substantial sums, and Mowbray has been told any money made will be re-invested in the side.
It may be Mowbray decides it would be better to retain Hartley - who has been contacted by the boss amid interest from Greece and Sheffield United - for another year than to commit a portion of his transfer budget to trying to recruit a replacement.
The same evaluation has to be made about Vennegoor who has put on hold any decision on his future until he returns from holiday next week.
But the Parkhead club have been warned they may miss the boat for players including striker Marc-Antoine Fortune and Venezuelan wide player, Juan Arango.
Real Mallorca star Arango now has Borussia Moenchengladbach and Trabzonspor on his trail, while Nancy have already accepted offers in excess of £4m from Wolves, Hull and Portsmouth for Fortune.
The French club's sporting director Nicolas Holveck said: "It's still possible Fortune could move to Celtic, but they have yet to make an acceptable offer."
