Kilmarnock sign Celtic goalkeeper on loan

Kilmarnock today completed the loan signing of Celtic goalkeeper Mark Brown.

The 28-year-old Parkhead fringe man will stay at Rugby Park until January 15, with Killie number one Alan Combe ruled out for up to three months.

Manager Jim Jefferies told his club’s official website, www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk: “With the news of Alan Combe’s injury, we had hoped to get cover.

“In Mark, we have a player who has plenty of SPL experience and after his great spell at Inverness, he earned his big move to Celtic.

“It’s always difficult to get a player in for the short period we were looking for but in Mark we’ve found a player who has played in big games and will, along with Cameron Bell and Lee Robinson, provide cover for Alan.

“We are delighted to have him at the club.”

Brown began his career at Rangers in 1997 before moving onto Motherwell in 2001.

In 2002, he earned a contract with Inverness and quickly became an indispensable member of the first-team squad, playing more than 150 games for them before joining Celtic in January 2007.

Combe, 35, who had a double hernia operation during the close season, had hoped a combination of Thai therapy and pain-killing injections would ease him back to fitness from a hip complaint.

However, he was left in agony after just one game – last week’s 3-1 Co-operative Insurance Cup success over Morton – and accepts that further surgery is required.

“When I woke up last Wednesday morning after the Morton game I was in absolute agony,” he said.

“I was sent to see a specialist in Bradford that evening and he said straight away I needed an operation.

“So I will get that done as soon as possible. The problem is all connected to my hip and my abductor and my thighs are very sore.

“It’s a huge blow, especially as I had a double hernia operation this summer. If we’d known I needed this as well, I could have had it done at the same time.

“But I’d been able to start training again a week before the Morton game. I felt good and everything seemed back to normal.

“When I kicked the ball I wasn’t in pain but the morning after the game everything seemed to seize up and was very sore.

“The surgeon confirmed I’d need an operation and I should have that in the next 10 days.

“I’ll be out for a minimum of 10 weeks and it is a massive blow.”