JAMES Forrest is a major doubt for Celtic’s opening Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland of Denmark at Parkhead on Tuesday week after being forced to self-isolate.

Forrest sat out the majority of last season after suffering a serious ankle injury playing for the Parkhead club in a Europa League qualifier against Riga in Latvia in September.

The 29-year-old returned to action in March after over five months out and was selected for the Scotland squad for the Euro 2020 finals this summer.

However, the winger, who played for the national team in their opening group game against the Czech Republic at Hampden last month, has entered quarantine after coming into close contact with someone with coronavirus and wasn’t involved in pre-season training in Newport today.

A Celtc statement read: "James Forrest is not currently present on the camp as unfortunately he has been identified as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case."

Celtic play in the second qualifying of the Champions League against Midtyylland on July 20 and new manager Ange Postecoglou is hoping the forward can be involved. 

Elsewhere, Christopher Jullien, the French centre half who spent the second half of last season out after sustaining a knee injury in a Premiership game against Dundee United in December, also wasn’t involved in the session in Wales. He has remained in Glasgow. 

Meanwhile, Celtic have been linked with moves for former West Brom winger Kyle Edwards and Carl Starfelt of Rubin Kazan as Postecolgou seeks to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season.

The former Australia head coach will have to carry out a major summer rebuild ahead of the 2021/22 campaign and has already brought in Liam Shaw and Usoze Urhoghide from Sheffield Wednesday.

The Parkhead club are reported to be in talks with both Edwards, the former England Under-20 forward who left The Hawthorns at the end of last season, and Starfelt, the Swedish centre back who has played in Russia for the past two seasons.

Meanwhile, Darren Moore, whose Sheffield Wednesday side will take on Celtic in a pre-season friendly in Wales this afternoon, has admitted he admires Jamie McCart, the St Johnstone defender who helped the Perth club win the League Cup and Scottish Cup last season. 

“It’s difficult for me to talk about a player who’s at another club,” he said. “But what I will say is that, yes, I do know of them and he is a tremendous player. A good, good player.

“It’s not surprised me there’s been a lot of clubs touted for him and talking about him. I won’t talk about the intricacies of the man himself because he’s not our player. But what I will say is that he’s a solid player and good with the ball at his feet.”

Joost van Aken and Tom Lees left Sheffield Wednesday this summer so the Owls need to bring in another centre back.

However, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Hibernian and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium have also been linked with the former Celtic youth player.