Celtic's injury problems throughout the season have been one of the primary reasons they have struggled on the pitch. It is hard to deliver results consistently when key players are constantly absent.

One of the areas where Celtic have faced this issue very often is up front, with Kelechi Iheanacho rarely staying fit for any consistent length of time. Even now, Martin O'Neill seems reluctant to start him as he might end up picking up some sort of issue and miss the rest of the games as a result.

While Iheanacho is fine, it looks like a different Celtic striker has now picked up an issue that might need him to undergo surgery. Obviously, at this point, it would mean missing the rest of the season.

We are talking about Tomas Cvancara, the Czech striker brought in on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach in the winter, when Celtic badly needed to add their options up top.

Martin O'Neill has provided an update on the situation of Cvancara and it does not make for good reading if you are a Celtic fan.

According to The Herald, the Celtic manager said on the status of the loanee: "He's got a bit of a groin strain.

"They're talking about the possibility of getting it seen to now. We'll have a look at that.

"When I say get it seen to, that might involve a small operation or something like that. But we don't know yet at this minute. He has to go for some more tests.

"If he had the operation, then you definitely wouldn't see him again. But I'd like the specialist to have another look at it."

It remains to be seen whether Cvancara ends up needing to undergo surgery or not. Even if he does, there will be question marks over how much he will be involved in the upcoming games as a result of the groin issue.

Admittedly, Cvancara has not particularly impressed when he has played. He has not scored often, and his only highlight might be the winning penalty against the Rangers at Ibrox.

Expectations were set much higher when Celtic brought in the Czech striker from the Bundesliga but they have not been met. It remains to be seen if we ever see him in a green-and-white jersey again or not.

Celtic do have an option to sign him permanently but that is unlikely to be taken after how underwhelming his loan spell has been.

If we have indeed seen the last of Cvancara in a Celtic shirt, then we can only wish him the best of luck moving forward.

As for Celtic's forward ranks, they will need to strengthened significantly in the summer.

For now, it looks like O'Neill has found an answer by starting Daizen Maeda and then bringing on Iheanacho as a substitute to take advantage of the defenders' tired legs. But it is uncertain whether either of those two will be at the club come next season.

Cvancara and Junior Adamu are likely to leave at the end of their loan spells as well. That leaves Callum Osmand as the only one who is almost certain to stay but he is nowhere near ready to lead the line for Celtic, that is for sure.

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