Boruc could be absent for the rest of Celtic's Group E matches
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has confirmed that goalkeeper Artur Boruc will have knee surgery and said Mark Brown will prove to be an able deputy.
Boruc will have an operation on Monday and could miss the Champions League clashes against Aalborg and Villarreal.
Strachan would not reveal whether the Poland goalkeeper would be fit to face Motherwell on Saturday.
But he said of the second choice waiting in the wings: "Mark Brown will come in and he is ready for it."
Saturday's match against Motherwell was expected to be Boruc's last before his operation.
But the Pole, who has had a recent dip in his usually high standard of play, sat out training on Friday, leading to speculation that Brown might be given the nod as he seeks match practice ahead of the Group E trip to Denmark on 25 November.
"Artur will get an operation on Monday," said Strachan, who could not say when Boruc would return to action. "It depends how quickly he can recover."
Mark Brown has given us an incredible professional performance over the last five or six months to get himself ready for when he will be needed
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan
Brown's last first-team appearance was in a 2-0 win at Dundee United on Boxing Day while Boruc was recovering from another knee injury.
"I have never seen anybody prepare as well for an opportunity as he has," Strachan said of Brown.
"He has left no stone unturned. He has given us an incredible professional performance over the last five or six months to get himself ready for when he will be needed.
"He has no fears that when he plays, he could have done anything else rather than what he has done in preparation for his opportunity."
Boruc could require up to a month to recover, in which case he would also be struggling to play in the Champions League match against Villarreal on 10 December.
His loss is a big blow to Celtic, who have six other first-team players on the treatment table, as they battle to qualify for the last 16 of Europe's top club competition.
Celtic are currently third in Group E with two points, behind Manchester United and Villarreal.
In order to reach the knock-out stage for the third year in succession, they would need to beat both Aalborg and Villarreal - the latter by two clear goals - and hope Manchester United also defeat both in their remaining fixtures.
Boruc has been an important part of Strachan's team since signing for the club in 2005 from Legia Warsaw.
If he were to miss a month of action, it would also encompass Scottish Premier League matches against Kilmarnock and Hamilton Accies, St Mirren, Inverness Caley Thistle and Hibernian.
The Poland international had surgery on a knee problem in December 2007 and returned to action three weeks later.
Second-choice Brown has made just 10 appearances since arriving from Caley Thistle in January 2007.
Despite his low number of first-team outings for Celtic, Brown gained some European experience in last season's Champions League qualifier away to Spartak Moscow.
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