Ange Postecoglou has set a Saturday deadline for stars Kyogo Furuhashi and James Forrest to prove they are ready for Hampden.
The Celtic pair as well as Mikey Johnston are fighting to be fit for Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup Final against Hibs.
Postecoglou is already without Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Albian Ajeti for the showpiece and awaiting medical work on Furuhashi, Forrest and Johnston.
However, the Parkhead boss is adamant the attacking trio will have to prove their fitness during today’s training session at Lennoxtown to have a chance of featuring at the National Stadium.
Postecoglou said: “I’m not ruling anyone out, but I’m not ruling anyone in at the moment.
“From my perspective, if anyone is going to be available, they will have to train tomorrow [Saturday].
“So the medical team will give me a briefing in the morning and we’ll go from there.
“It’s still sort of a day-to-day proposition. I’ve got no choice, it’s how it is.
“I’d much rather not be in this position and have everyone available, but it’s been happening for a few weeks.
“Ultimately, you just want to make the best decision for us on the weekend and make sure we have a team out there that can give a good account of themselves.
“The players are working hard to try to be available, but, ultimately, it will come down to a decision of whether they are fit enough to contribute or not.”
Postecoglou insists he’s no hunch about who may or may not make it and continued: “My degree in hunches hasn’t come through yet!
“I’ll keep an open mind on it, I’m not trying to play ducks and drakes with you.
“It is a day-to-day thing and they are making progress, but is Sunday too early for them?
“All of those decisions we will have to make, but they will have to train and that will give us the best indication of how they feel. And then we’ll make a decision.
“At the moment, not all of them are guaranteed to train, it’s just about how they feel in the morning.”
Postecoglou insists he does not have a hard-and-fast rule over players displaying their wellbeing in a session immediately prior to a big game.
He explained: “No, not always, but, in this case, the boys have missed a bit and it’s such a big game.
“There’s enormous stress put on each individual, we just want to make sure we give them a chance.
“It’s more about them, giving them the peace of mind that they’ve got through training, which will give them the confidence they can get through the game.”
