Nir Bitton

Why is Bitton starting for Israel?

He better no limp off with an injury.

 

Basically under fifa rules and uefa rules international football takes precedence and if we pull players out we can’t play them for 5 days after the match they where due to be involved in

 

* incredible that Bitton is starting.

 

* gives ? He is injured to play for his club but ok to play for the national team so who’s medics are wrong ?

 

You do realise it’s days later, and injuries heal given time?

 

Tbh injured or not he’s bossed this game, same old Bitton, solid!

 

Played full 120 minutes aswell


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He and all our boy's who've played 120 minute's should be left out of their next internationals though..

Bitton more than answered the call of duty..

Elhamed is injury prone so the same for him..

Duffy hasn't played much football but hasnt stopped for us and Ireland the last couple month..

Mo isn't long back from injury. No sure if he played..

McGregor plays and always sees it out..

Should be protected now..

 

Mo only got on for the last 10min of extra time but Ajer played full 120mins.

 

Though lenny said it was a bad injury and would be out for weeks...?

 

Strolled it last night.

 

Nir Bitton revealed his burning desire to help Israel to a major finals explained why he was able to confound Neil Lennon and play against Scotland.

The 28-year-old defender suffered an ankle injury in Celtic’s Europa League win over Sarajevo last week and missed the Premiership victory at St Johnstone on Sunday.

After Israel coach Willi Ruttensteiner included Bitton in his squad for the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final at Hampden Park on Thursday night and Nations League games against Czech Republic and Slovakia, Celtic boss Lennon claimed it would be “impossible” for the centre-back to be fit in time.

But Bitton played 120 minutes against Scotland before scoring in the penalty shoot-out, although Steve Clarke’s side won 5-3 to set up a final away to Serbia next month, leaving Israel looking back to 1970 since they qualified for a major finals.




Bitton said: “Celtic is the club who pay my salary but as a person, as a professional athlete, I couldn’t give up on this game.

“These are the games you dream of playing when you are six years old.

“Even the day after the injury I told the medical staff at Celtic that I wanted to give myself a chance. I twisted my ankle very badly away in Bosnia and I didn’t believe I could make it.

“On the way back home on Friday I was on crutches, I was in a wheelchair and I couldn’t even walk on the foot.

“But I wasn’t going to rule myself out of the game until I knew that I couldn’t play.

“I never give up, I always try to push myself to the limit but to be honest the medical staff here did an unbelievable job, they treated me like their child with treatment three times a day.

“I played this game only because of them and I understand the frustration of Celtic. I was glad I made it but it is a bit frustrating now.”




Nir Bitton confounded Celtic bosss Neil Lennon to be fit to face Scotland (Jane Barlow/PA)



Asked about speaking to Lennon, Bitton, who joined Celtic from Ashdod in 2013, jokingly replied: “I blocked his number.”

He added: “I didn’t speak to him. It was between the national team and Celtic.

“But for my side, I always told Celtic that I was going to give it a chance and obviously if I didn’t feel good I wouldn’t play.

“But on Tuesday I felt OK at training, on Wednesday I felt better and on Thursday morning I told the gaffer that I wanted to play.

“With all the adrenaline around the game and around the occasion you don’t feel anything – I feel it now though.”

Bitton is not sure if he will be asked to play in Israel’s Nations League games against Czech Republic and Slovakia before returning to Glasgow for the first Old Firm game of the year at Celtic Park on October 17.



Celtic’s Nir Bitton (right) has Rangers to look forward to after international break (Jeff Holmes/PA)



Asked if he would be OK for the Rangers game, Bitton smiled and said: “I am in big trouble if I’m not.

“Obviously Rangers is a big game but I’m not thinking about Rangers right now.

“I don’t know if I will travel with the team for the next two games, it is a decision to be made by the coach and the medical staff.

“I gave everything to take part in this game, this is a game that really was my target.

“I didn’t really think about the Czech Republic or Slovakia, I only thought about Scotland. So I don’t know what is going to happen, we will see.”

 

I understand the want to play for a national team but if there's any lay-off that follows as a result of this then it was absolutely the wrong call.

If he was in a wheelchair on Friday then playing 120 mins of football less than a week later obviously brings risks.

Too often we're shafted by players picking up injuries while away on International duty and the players need to balance the want to play in those games with the fact that we're picking up the tab when it all goes wrong.

 

Yeah Celtics just a paycheck, * them

 

Still got beat but, lol.

 

Just broke back into the team, and now he'll be frozen out again

 

Agreed. Can’t see Lennon taking this well considering he was so vocal publicly about it.

 

Might have to get some training tips off of Gamboa the way this might turn out.