Celtic have announced that Scott Brown will be out until the New Year.

The midfielder has been suffering a persistent ankle injury since last season. But despite seeing a range of specialists and missing a number of matches, the Celtic medical team are still unable to pinpoint the problem with Brown’s injury.

The former Hibs player went under the knife in June in an attempt to solve his ankle niggles, but the problem remains.

Brown played through the pain barrier for Celtic as they tried to maintain the SPL championship last season then again for Scotland in their ultimately futile attempt to reach the World Cup.

The 24-year-old will now sit out the remaining matches of the year.

His progress will be keenly tracked by the clubs down south who have been considering a move for the Scotland international in the January transfer window.

Transfer fees of up to £10million have been bandied about, with Tottenham Hotspurs and Premier League strugglers Bolton the main contenders at the moment.