Ange Postecoglou has only been at Celtic for a few weeks but he already knows what it would have felt like to be the boss last season.
The Australian has been busy preparing his players for their first pre-season friendly clash in Wales on Wednesday afternoon but he will be without the services of one of his star players.
Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard have travelled despite their futures in Glasgow remaining unclear but one man who isn’t in the squad is James Forrest.
The Scot was ready to return from international duty at the European Championships but he won’t be able to train for a while.
Forrest was deemed a close contact of somebody with the virus and will now have to self isolate.
As a result, he won’t play against Sheffield Wednesday this week and he could also be a doubt for their Champions League qualifying clash with Midtjylland on 20th July.
This is a huge blow to Postecoglou who will be incredibly gutted that he can’t begin to figure out how the winger fits into his plans.
On his day, Forrest is one of the most consistent figures at the club. He found the net on 16 occasions in 2019/20 and provided a further 22 assists for his troubles.
Last term was a wretched one for the Scotland international who actually missed a large part of the season through injury.
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The 30-year-old was absent for 38 matches due to two separate ankle problems and could have really done with a full pre-season.
Therefore, to miss the opportunity to regain his fitness and play more games will come as a bitter blow to the player and his club.
Forrest hasn’t managed 90 minutes for Celtic since the Hoops drubbed Ross County 5-0 last September so any form of match action would be invaluable for him right now.
He will also miss the opportunity to impress the new manager and get accustomed to his play style.
With Celtic lacking right-sided options, it only elevates the blow at hand. Although a winger by trade, Postecoglou could have chosen to operate him in a wing-back position during pre-season.
After all, the club’s only viable options at right-back lack first-team football in Anthony Ralston and Lee O’Connor.
The Bhoys will hope that once his isolation period ends, Forrest comes back fit and firing swiftly.