Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that forward Kyogo Furuhashi is expected to be out for several more weeks due to a hamstring problem.
The Japanese international suffered a recurrence of the injury in the 3-1 win over St Johnstone last month and Postecoglou says the club are still not sure when the player will be able to return to action:
“It’s fair to say he hasn’t recovered from the injury. We’re still getting some advice on it. He’s not likely to feature in the next couple of weeks at least, it could be longer. In terms of definite time frames we’re just getting some more info and hopefully during the week we’ll know a little bit more.”
Supporters on Twitter are disappointed, to say the least, by the news, although some are optimistic that the Hoops can cope without Furuhashi:
Pain
— Kevin (@KevinTwist67) January 21, 2022
No as worrying a it would have been a month or two ago. Got plenty cover now, GG, Maeda and abada will do the job no bother. We battered Hibs with Kyogo and Jota out. I'm buzzing with how this window has went. The pendulum has swung
— Lubo Hatate 🍀🇯🇵 (@Danbo115) January 21, 2022
Again, hope Ange is at the windup with how long Kyogo will be out for but it’s not looking good 😒
— AS ☭ 🇮🇶🇵🇸 (@darius_tyrone) January 21, 2022
Huge blow with Kyogo being out for a while.
— CC (@TheLeatherBelts) January 21, 2022
Think we are finally letting kyogo fully recover and not rushing him back thankfully they options we’ve got means we ain’t as reliant on kyogo now
— keira (@keirahaughian) January 21, 2022
With the clash against Rangers just eleven days away, it seems unlikely that the 27-year-old will be fit to play in the derby.
As some fans have pointed out, though, the club’s business so far in the January transfer window, combined with the return of some players from injury, means that Furuhashi’s absence won’t be as keenly felt. Even so, it is a big blow leading into such an important match.
