Callum McGregor's absence from Celtic training earlier today has been explained by Brendan Rodgers.

Both the captain and manager were not present for today's session as the champions prepare to face Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.

John Kennedy oversaw first-team matters as he put their squad through their paces as they look to build on their 7-1 mauling of Dundee on Wednesday night.

However, it seems that McGregor is a major doubt for the game, after picking up an Achilles injury in that midweek match.

Despite not being in attendance for the final training session of the week, Rodgers was in the hotseat for media duties at Lennoxtown.

The 50-year-old said: "Callum [McGregor] came off at half-time during the week, he felt his Achilles a little bit and his calf... we just have to assess that and see where he is at over the next 24 hours."

For the second week in a row, Celtic will be playing catch up on title rivals Rangers, who played Motherwell on Saturday afternoon.

READ MORE: Former Celtic boss Ronny Deila on brink of the sack after shock cup exit

Meanwhile, former Celtic boss Ronny Deila is on the brink of being sacked by Club Brugge after they were bundled out of the Belgian Cup.

The Norwegian boss made the controversial switch from Standard Liege to Brugge in the summer and was expected to help them launch a title challenge.

But they are in third place in the league, 20 points behind leaders Union Saint-Gilloise and blew a first-leg lead in the Belgian Cup semi-final to crash out of the competition to USG in a 2-0 defeat in Brussels.

And the Brugge board are reportedly meeting to decide Deila's future before their game on Sunday away to Genk.

Deila, who managed Celtic for two seasons, admitted he didn't know whether he would keep his job after their latest setback.