Celtic and Scotland striker Leigh Griffiths is to take time out of football to deal with what manager Brendan Rodgers has described as "ongoing issues".

The forward was not at training ahead of the team's Europa League match and Rodgers explained the reason for his absence. He said that the player had been "struggling" and would receive the support of the club and professional help.

"Leigh will be out of football for a little period of time," Rodgers said. "He's had ongoing issues for a number of months.

"He's reached a point where it's a struggle for him. We are going to give him all the professional help he needs to get him back in a good place.

"He's a great guy but football and life is tough for him right now. We want to help him with that and we'll let you know when he's back. I'm very close with him.

"We have a strong relationship but he's had number of issues outside of football.

"The most important thing for managers and coaches is the welfare of players. It's no longer a weakness to talk now. He has all of our support - the team, the staff and the supporters."

The 28-year old has been a key player for club and country in recent years but has been in and out of Celtic's first team this season.

A knee injury ruled him out for a month in the summer and he had a second spell on the sidelines in October and November.

That led to him withdrawing from the Scotland squad for the Nations League matches against Albania and Israel.

Griffiths returned to action against Hamilton Academical on November 24, scoring after coming off the bench.