Celtic's Joe Hart celebrates with Kyogo Furuhashi after the match
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has provided an injury update on Kyogo Furuhashi and Carl Starfelt.
The Lowdown: Two injuries
The Hoops ran riot over their Glasgow arch-rivlas at Parkhead on Saturday with a 4-0 win. However, the win came at a cost ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Real Madrid.
Kyogo went off in the early exchanges against Rangers with a shoulder problem and Starfelt was the next to limp off with a knee problem in the second half, with the pair being replaced by Giorgos Giakoumakis and Moritz Jenz respectively.
The Latest: Kyogo injury latest
Talking to the media after the game, as relayed by Glasgow Live, Postecoglou labelled Kyogo’s injury a “blow” for Celtic.
The 57-year-old told reporters:
“We’ll see how it is. It was a shoulder injury [for Kyogo]. Carl had a niggle in his knee. It’s a bit of blow because Kyogo has been in brilliant form so far this season. We’ll assess them after this.”
The Verdict: Fingers crossed
You’d expect that Kyogo will be a doubt for Tuesday’s meeting against Real Madrid, especially after potentially exacerbating the problem by slipping during the post-match celebrations.
It is a quick turnaround from Saturday, so Postecoglou may not want to take any risks with the Japanese star, who missed large parts of the previous campaign with knee and hamstring issues.
The 27-year-old will no doubt be missed if he isn’t fit to feature tomorrow night, having scored six goals in as many Premiership games in the early weeks of the season.
At least Celtic will have plenty of options if they decide to omit Kyogo against the Champions League holders, with Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda just two of those who could potentially come in to fill the void.
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