No surgery for Scott Brown, but 10 week lay-off beckons

Celtic Captain Scott Brown faces up to 10 week on the sidelines, but will not need surgery on his foot, Celtic confirmed today.

• Brown: 8-10 weeks on the sidelines

Brown suffered a stress reaction in the third metatarsal on his right foot last week.

That meant he missed Scotland's Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Spain and will miss next week's Old Firm derby.

The club said on Friday that the midfielder would be out for at least six weeks.

But after visiting a specialist today, it was confirmed that Brown will not need an operation which could have kept him out for three months.

Brown should be back in action before the second Clydesdale Bank Premier League meeting of the season against Rangers on January 2.

The former Hibernian player has joined fellow midfielder Beram Kayal on the sidelines with the Israel international set for a similar spell out after being told he needed hernia surgery.

The injuries could revive the Parkhead career of Marc Crosas, who made his first SPL appearance of the season when he came off the bench in the 3-1 victory over Hamilton in Celtic's most recent match.

Crosas has been keeping fit by playing friendlies for Danny McGrain's development squad and featured in a 4-1 victory over Bohemians at the weekend.