Caltex Socceroos midfielder Daniel Arzani’s debut for Scottish giants Celtic has not gone to plan, with the 19-year-old taken off on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury.
Tom Rogic had given the Hoops a dream start against Dundee, marking his 150th appearance in the green and white with a 20th minute strike to put Celtic a goal to the good.
The score was 5-0 by the time Arzani was introduced in the 56th minute, and he nearly made an immediate impact, setting up Kieran Tierney for what could have been Celtic’s sixth goal.
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Arzani then suffered a knee injury, though, and left the field on a stretcher after just 20 minutes of game time in what ended up a comfortable 5-0 Scottish Premiership win for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Arzani was able to clap the Celtic fans as he came off and afterwards, Rodgers said he would likely be heading for scans.
"He's a really really good kid, he's a super bright boy, he wants to do well for Celtic and we'll just have to see tomorrow - he's probably going to need a scan on his knee," he said.
Rodgers added that he was encouraged by Arzani's performance and that he "is a Celtic player".
"He’s settled in very, very well," he added.
"It’s just building up his confidence to come in and play.
"It’s just unfortunate that he had to go off but he certainly is happy to take the ball. He has confidence. He is a Celtic player in terms of, he wants to beat people and he wants to be aggressive.
"It was nice for him … unfortunately he got injured but we’ll have to see how that is."
The Caltex Socceroos’ medical department will be keeping an eye on the extent of Arzani’s injury as manager Graham Arnold prepares to name his squad for November friendlies against Korea Republic and Lebanon next week.
After a series of impressive cameos at the FIFA World Cup 2018, Arzani was signed by Manchester City before inking a two-year loan deal with Celtic.