It’s unlikely the Japanese attacker will feature again this term after suffering a hamstring injury. Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Daizen Maeda’s season is all but over.
The Japanese star – who opened the scoring in last week’s six-goal thriller at Ibrox – has suffered a hamstring injury. And Rodgers admits it’s unlikely the attacker will play again for Celtic before the end of the campaign. However, the Hoops boss doesn’t expect defender Liam Scales to be out for the long-term.
Speaking after yesterday’s 3-0 win over St Mirren, Rodgers said: “Unfortunately, I’m not sure we’ll see Daizen again this season, I don’t expect him to feature too much. It’s such a small window for him now. But Liam is different. Hopefully he’ll be OK.”
Celts soared four points clear of Rangers after a hard-fought win over Saints. Reo Hatate eased the nerves after a goalless first-half by rifling the champions ahead shortly after the break before goals from Kyogo and Adam Idah sealed the points. Captain Callum McGregor was given more minutes from the bench as Rodgers nurses the influential midfielder back from an Achilles injury.
Rodgers said: “Reo will be important for us in the run-in. We’ve tried to build him up and he was outstanding at Ibrox. When he went off, we lost a bit in midfield. But he’s had another week’s training and got his goal today, which will be great for his confidence.
“He’s a huge player for us. Ideally, you try and nurse them back so they’re perfect for the run-in – but it’s a challenge. Reo had come back a few times and broke down while away with the Japanese squad.
“So we have to be careful with him. We have to manage him and the likes of Callum McGregor who had a fantastic cameo against Saints. But with Reo, or any top player, you try to have the right plan for him that allows them to peak at the right time.
“You can see that we’ve missed players who were a huge influence for us and now they’re all back. Cameron Carter-Vickers today was absolutely brilliant and on a different level. And we’ve now got a bench that can really affect the game for us.”
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply