Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is refusing to rule out a request to postpone the Old Firm derby at Parkhead.
The Hoops gaffer has previously stated that he won’t stop any of his players reporting for international duty in February.
But if three or more Celtic stars are called up for World Cup qualifiers, Postecoglou will consider taking advantage of the rules to have the Rangers clash called off.
The second Old Firm game of the season is scheduled for Wednesday 2 February at Parkhead.
But Celtic could have as many as SIX players away.
They include Japanese quartet Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate, as well as Aussie playmaker Tom Rogic and American centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Postecoglou insists he won’t make a final decision until the squads are announced.
The Celtic manager said: “It’s not a problem yet.
“I could spend hours thinking about what we’re going to do, strategise and having meetings about it – then in the end find out that only one player gets selected.
“So I’m not going to worry about it.
“We’ll plan as we always have, that when we lose our players to international duty we’ll crack on and play the games we need to play.
“As it stands, none of the players have been selected yet. If that happens, we’ll look at it then.”
Celtic’s star striker Kyogo looks certain to be called up – if fit – for Japan’s crucial World Cup games against China on January 27 and Saudi Arabia on February 1.
It’s unlikely that all four Japanese players will be away, with Ideguchi for example still uncapped.
Rogic looks a stick on to be selected for the Socceroos who face Vietnam and Oman on the same dates.
While Carter-Vickers is in contention for the USA who play El Salvador, Canada and Honduras that week.
But if Celtic don’t want to play the Rangers game, the likelihood is they’d have to ask for THREE Premiership fixtures to be postponed.
As well as the Old Firm on February 3, they’re also due to play Hearts on January 26 and Dundee United on January 29.
Rule G7 of the SPFL’s rule book states that clubs can request re-arrangement of “any official match where three or more of its players who would otherwise have participated in such match are unavailable through international selection and, following receipt of such an application, the board may postpone and rearrange the relevant official match in accordance with rule G3”
Rangers themselves could find themselves in a similar boat ahead of the critical Old Firm fixture.
If Nigeria reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations taking place now in Cameroon, Joe Aribo will still be absent.
And for the World Cup qualifiers in February, Scott Arfield, Alfredo Morelos, Kemar Roofe and James Sands could all potentially be called up by their respective countries.
Arfield’s Canada has games on January 28, 30 and February 3.
Morelos is being touted for a Colombia recall, who face Peru and Argentina.
While Roofe’s Jamaica have games lined up against Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica.
