Celtic flop signed from Man Utd set to miss Parkhead return in Champions League as mystery surrounds absence
Saidy Janko was involved in a shambolic mix-up that almost cost Celtic in the Champions League under Brendan Rodgers - but he will be denied the chance to hamper his old manager’s bid to progress in the competition this week.
Janko joined the Hoops in a four-year deal from Manchester United when Ronny Deila was in charge but left halfway through that to join French side Saint-Etienne. He made 13 appearances in his first season before the Norwegian left and was replaced by Rodgers.
He featured seven times under Rodgers but the last of those appearances came on a fraught night in Israel when Celtic lost 2-0 to Hapoel Beer Sheva in a Champions League qualifier but squeezed through 5-4 on aggregate to reach the group stage. Janko collided with keeper Craig Gordon for the second goal in a horrible moment and wasn’t seen in a Celtic shirt again.
The defender sent on loan to Barnsley before moving to France permanently. The Swiss full back, who moved from FC Zurich to Old Trafford when David Moyes was Manchester United manager but failed to make the grade at the Premier League giants, has had a nomadic and at times bizarre career - he signed for Porto but never kicked a ball - which has taken him back to his homeland with Celtic’s next Champions League rivals, Young Boys.
However, he won’t get the chance to run out at Parkhead on Wednesday as the 29-year-old hasn’t featured this season. His last game was against FC Winterthur, the team currently bottom of the Swiss League and who held Young Boys to a goalless draw at the weekend, in the final game of last season. But the Bern outfit have been coy during press conferences on the exact nature of the injury which has denied him any game time this season, with the Swiss media regarding it as some kind of secret.
One man who could feature though is a player who was on the opposite side of the Old Firm divide in Glasgow. Cedric Itten was part of the Rangers side to last win the Scottish Premiership title under Steven Gerrard.
He signed from St Gallen but netted just six goals and was sent out on loan to Germany in his second season before moving to Young Boys in a permanent deal and has netted four goals this season.
