The Hoops have already been rocked by the news that Alistair Johnston is out until NovemberAnthony Ralston(Image: SNS Group)

Celtic are reportedly sweating over the fitness of Anthony Ralston as Brendan Rodgers is handed more problems in the right back department.

The Hoops have already been dealt a big blow in the early weeks of the season after Alistair Johnston suffered a serious hamstring injury during their defeat to Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-off, with Celtic bowing out on pens.

The Canada star isn’t expected to feature again until November at the earliest, leaving Scotland international Ralston as the club’s only other available senior right back.

And according to Sun Sport, academy graduate Ralston is now facing a couple of weeks out of action.

The 26-year-old had been named in Steve Clarke’s squad for the World Cup 2026 qualifying double header, with the Scots kicking off their campaign with a tough trip to Denmark on Friday night.

They are also on the road again on Monday night when they travel to face Belarus.

But the report claims that Ralston is set to pull out of the squad ahead of the two games.

They add that the defender has been playing through the pain barrier after suffering an ankle injury of his own against Kairat, with Ralston completing the 90 minutes in the goalless draw with Rangers at Ibrox last Sunday.

The report claims that Celtic intend to pull Ralston out of the firing line until he is fully recovered and that he is a doubt to feature against Kilmarnock on September 14 when the Premiership champions return from the international break.

Ralston’s absence could see Colby Donovan handed his first competitive start in 11 days time.

The 18-year-old make his Celtic debut as a late substitute in the 3-0 win over Livingston last month and also appeared off the bench against Kairat in Asia.

Colby Donovan(Image: SNS Group)

Scotland youth international Donovan won praise from his manager during pre-season after the youngster netted the winning goal in a friendly encounter against Cork City.

Rodgers said: “He’s a boy who’s very competitive, and I like him.

“I can see the development from last year when he played. He’s very aggressive, he passes forward. He’ll become a bit less rash as his career moves forward.

“I like his personality and I like his dominance, and he can play football, which you have to be able to when you play for Celtic, and [it was] nice for him to get that winning goal.”