Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side have been dealt yet another setback ahead of Sunday’s Premiership meeting with Old Firm rivals Rangers.
What’s the latest?
In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, former Celtic midfielder Simon Donnelly claimed that, despite being pictured back in training ahead of the Bhoys’ trip to Ibrox this weekend, Kyogo Furuhashi will not feature against Rangers.
Hinting at possessing behind the scenes information on the current condition of the centre-forward, Donnelly said:
“He’s been out for three months and three days. I’ve heard that he is back training, but I think Sunday may come too soon for him. I think maybe they are looking more at the Scottish Cup semi-final. I think that might be more realistic.”
Bad news
Considering just how impressive Kyogo has been for Celtic since his £4.6m move to Parkhead last summer, should Donnelly be correct in his claim that the 27-year-old will be unavailable for selection against Rangers this Sunday, it would be extremely bad news for Ange Postecoglou and his side.
Indeed, over his 14 Premiership appearances this season, the £4.95m-rated forward has been in breathtaking form for the Hoops, scoring eight goals, registering two assists and creating four big chances for his teammates.
That’s as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game – with these returns seeing the Japan international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03.
The £52.5k-per-week hitman was also in exceptional form over his five Europa League appearances this term, over which he scored two goals, provided two assists and created two big chances for his teammates – with these metrics seeing the centre-forward average an even more impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.10.
As such, while Kyogo never looked likely to start at Ibrox, should the Japanese sensation not be fit enough to play any part against Rangers this weekend, it would undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Celtic’s chances of leaving Govan with all three points.
And, following the news that Stephen Welsh is now also a doubt for the potentially title-deciding clash, Postecoglou will certainly be hoping that no more of his squad pick up knocks or suffer further setbacks between now and kick-off on Sunday afternoon.
AND in other news: Ange could unearth the new Havertz as Celtic make move for “aggressive” £500k “threat”