Brendan Rodgers has ruled Dedryck Boyata out of Celtic’s Europa League play-off first leg against Lithuanian side Suduva on Thursday.
Boyata resumed training with his team-mates this week following a bust-up with Rodgers over his failed summer transfer to Premier League outfit Fulham.
However, he hasn’t been deemed ready for the game at Lithuania.
“Dedryck Boyata isn’t here,” Rodgers said. “There are still issues with him physically.
“We’re at a stage in the season where we can’t afford to take any real risks on players if they’re not physically right to be here.
“He has a problem with his back that he struggled with last week. Overall his fitness, in terms of being ready to come in, isn’t there.
“If he doesn’t feel right, and this is what we’re gauging him on, then I can’t afford to play him.
“I need the players who are going to be physically and mentally right for us because they’re really important for us.”
The Belgian defender had a fallout with his manager after Boyata sat out Celtic’s Champions League qualifying loss to AEK Athens.
However, having initially resumed training alone, Boyata rejoined the squad following a talk with Rogers and club captain Scott Brown.
“It’s very simple and it’s closed now. He had a meeting with the captain and myself. We all spoke about where we were at and wanted to move on from it.
“We only want good players but, more importantly, we only want good attitudes in the group and that was something that was very clear.
“He’s trained the last few days with the squad but deems himself not quite right physically to participate in the games.”
