Ex-Celtic striker John Hartson says Kyogo Furuhashi is getting the recognition he deserves after starring for Japan over the past week.

The 28-year-old has not been a regular starter for his country, but he scored against Tunisia on Tuesday night, and Hartson believes it is about time that the Hoops star is getting his opportunities on the international stage:

“Yeah, well they [Japan] left him out of the World Cup squad but he’s featured for Japan now on the back of his great form for Celtic. He’s just a tremendous striker isn’t he? He makes the runs and when he gets in, he predominantly scores.”

Japan are on a run of six consecutive victories, which has coincided with Kyogo’s return to the international setup earlier this year.

The forward has started for his country in 3 of their last six matches, scoring twice, against El Salvador and Tunisia.

Kyogo should be fresh to face Hearts

Although Japan did play on Tuesday, the Celtic striker was only on the pitch for the opening 45 minutes before being substituted.

While there is travelling and jet lag to take into account, the player should have no issue starting for his club when Brendan Rodgers‘ side take on Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.

The Celtic star is carrying an injury

While the Japanese international is continuing to perform well for both club and country, there are still some concerns about a shoulder injury that the player sustained last season. Speaking about the issue, Rodgers says it may, ultimately, require surgery:

“I’ve seen it in the past with players when their shoulders can pop out a little bit. It’s one of those where it probably won’t be totally right until he has an operation on it. But he can obviously get by without that as he’s not in any real pain other than when it pops out.”

With so many important games coming up, it’s unlikely that Kyogo will decide to have an operation anytime soon. It’s certainly not affecting his game based on his displays for Celtic.