NIR BITTON is hoping it will not be a case of deja vu after injuring an ankle during Israel's defeat to Wales on Saturday night.

 

At the start of March last year, the midfielder sustained groin damage while playing for his country against Slovakia.

He was expected to be out for a month - but the injury marked the end of his season.

It would be a huge blow to Bitton and to Celtic if the 23-year-old has again suffered a serious injury while on international duty.

Since Charlie Mulgrew dropped out of the Hoops starting XI with a knee injury at the end of last year, Bitton he has become a key player in Ronny Deila's side.

That followed a lengthy heart-to-heart with the Hoops boss about what he had to do to get regular football.

The result has been a partnership with Scott Brown at the heart of the midfield which has made Bitton one of the first names on the team sheet every week.

Now Deila and the Celtic medical team are desperate to get a full report on the damage Bitton sustained after he came on with 30 minutes remaining of the 3-0 loss to rampant Wales.

Bitton was sent to hospital in Israel on Saturday night to have X-rays on the joint.

He feared he would have to miss the League Cup final at Hampden two weeks ago after limping out of the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tannadice the weekend before.

On that occasion he turned an ankle, but recovered in time to play his part in bringing the first silverware of the season to Parkhead.

Israel are scheduled to play Jason Denayer's Belgium in another crunch Euro 2016 qualifier tomorrow night.

But, Bitton is now expected to head back to Glasgow immediately to allow his club to fully assess his injury.

The Hoops' next game is on Friday night against St Mirren in Paisley, and Bitton must already be a serious doubt for that match.

The majority of the Celtic players who have been on national service duty are scheduled to report back to Lennoxtown today, though Denayer, John Guidetti and Liam Henderson have international commitments for a couple more days.

Deila gave the players not selected for their countries the weekend off in preparation for another intensive burst of games which will see them play six times in the space of 19 days.