Hooper has scored nine league goals in his first season at Celtic

Celtic say striker Gary Hooper could miss up to six weeks of action with a severe ankle strain.

Hooper was stretchered off at Celtic Park following a tussle with Kilmarnock defender Frazer Wright during Tuesday's 1-1 Scottish Premier League draw.

Initial fears of a broken leg were allayed by a scan on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Englishman, signed from Scunthorpe in the summer for £2.4m, is Celtic's leading scorer this season with 11 goals.

Hooper has already endured a six-week lay-off in his Celtic career after tearing a calf muscle during a pre-season friendly against Blackburn.

And manager Neil Lennon is urging his other forwards to make the most of Hooper's misfortune.

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"Out of a crisis comes opportunity so it's an opportunity for other players to come in and show me why they're here," he said.

"With (Anthony) Stokes, (Georgios) Samaras and (Daryl) Murphy we can have a bit of variety, with maybe one of the wide men through the middle as well.

"They have got to step forward and start taking responsibility for the goals now that Gary is out."

Stokes, who replaced Hooper on Tuesday, has eight goals to his name this season but has not found the net in a five-game spell.

The former Sunderland and Hibernian forward said: "None of us wants to see Hoops out for a day never mind a few weeks but it happens in football and whoever the gaffer puts in the team is just going to have to step up to the plate and get some goals, because we are badly needing them at the minute.

"Everyone needs to chip in but strikers are paid to put the ball in the net and we have to take the brunt of it when things are going the way they are at the minute."

Speaking after Tuesday's game, Lennon was frustrated by Celtic's poor finishing as they were held to a draw at home for the third time on the trot.

"We should have been at least three up by half time," he told BBC Scotland. "I wouldn't mind if they were half-chances but they were sitters.

"That was disappointing but I think the play in general was pretty good.

"We can't keep dropping points at home. That's three in a row now when really we should have been home and hosed. At this level, we have to put teams away."

Celtic are two points behind SPL leaders Rangers, having played a game more than their fierce rivals.

Dundee United and Inverness were the other teams to hold Celtic on their own patch.

"We were short in the final third," Lennon admitted after Thomas Rogne's late header cancelled out a breakaway goal from Conor Sammon.

"We broke umpteen times and got into really good positions. I don't know how many crosses we got into the box in the second half, maybe 20-22.

"But the performance was pleasing. It was a lot better than the Inverness game in terms of our play from midfield and in the wide areas.

"Going forward we were fine it was just that missing touch at the end of things."

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