Fortune has scored eight goals in 23 games since his £3.8million move from French club Nancy in the summer, but was left out of the Active Nation Scottish Cup fifth-round win over Dunfermline on Sunday as new signings Robbie Keane, Morten Rasmussen and Diomansy Kamara all got on the scoresheet in the 4-2 win.
Ahead of the SPL clash with Hearts at Parkhead on Wednesday night, where Celtic hope to close the 10-point gap enjoyed by Rangers at the top of the table, Mowbray said Fortune is still very much in his plans.
"Marc is at the front of the queue as far as I'm concerned," Mowbray said. "His performances over the last six weeks have been outstanding.
"Everybody prejudged him on his role but I always judged him over performance over 90 minutes, week in, week out.
"In my mind he is right up there with every other striker we have at the football club.
"He has played a lot of football, as has Aiden McGeady.
"Both have had a lot of minutes on the football pitch and sometimes you want to change it about and freshen it up and so you utilise options if you've got them.
"I need to decide what the best formation is and who are the best individuals to play each game."
Celtic v Hearts 1st Goalscorer: Fortune, M. 9/2
Source: Team Talk
>> Terms & Conditions