He was involved in first-half goals from McGregor and James Forrest and had the ball in the net after the break only to be ruled offside, before Cammy MacPherson's late deflected strike from a free-kick gave the home side a consolation.

McGregor said: "He's such a platform for the team, he can hold things in, link up.

"He's obviously a big scorer for us so to have him fit and hopefully starting will be a big boost for us. He's an incredible player and the forefront of our attack.

"We try to join in, he links the play and plays a great pass for Jamesy (Forrest) with great awareness.

"He's much more than a scorer – he's creative, can hold the ball, he can come short and link.

"He's terrific footballer. He's shown that in Europe, these games and cup finals.

"He's always been the go-to man. We are just desperate to keep him fit and helping the team."

After 11 straight wins in the league, Celtic go into the final game of 2019 five points ahead of Rangers albeit with a game in hand over the Light Blues.

Scotland international McGregor said: "We're in a good place with a lot of wins in a row in the league so we've got that run going and we want to protect it.

"Derby games are always special so we won't need any extra motivation. We will try to win and play as well as we can."