Boyata 'not refusing to play' for Celtic
The ex-Manchester City man claims he is suffering from an injury, despite rumours of the player wanting a move away from Parkhead.
Boyata has been linked with Fulham, Olympiakos and Fenerbahce in recent weeks and there had been reports that he was refusing to play for Celtic in an effort to force through a move.
Rodgers had responded to the defender's absense claiming it made him "sad" and that he preferred to put his faith in "players who want to be here".
The Belgian replied via an Instagram video, saying "Unfortunately, I could not play because I'm not yet 100% operational."
Speaking to Belgian website "DH.be", Boyata said: "When I hear I've refused to play since I came back from vacation, it's wrong.
"Last Thursday, I hurt myself when I slipped in training and I held my leg immediately.
"The physio saw it and examined me right after the session. I put ice for 30 minutes on my leg and, the next day, I specified I had pains.
"The exams proved I could not play against Hearts and, since then, I'm doing everything I can to be ready as quickly as possible."
A post shared by Dedryck Boyata (@dedryck.boyata) on Aug 13, 2018 at 4:47pm PDT
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