Injury expert Ben Dinnery believes Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi could be out for four weeks with his current muscle problem, Football Insider report.
The Lowdown: Ange’s comments
Furuhashi injured his hamstring in the final game before the winter break against St Johnstone and missed Celtic’s first game back against Hibernian on Monday evening due to injury alongside Albian Ajeti, Christopher Jullien, Karamoko Dembele and David Turnbull.
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The 26-year-old, who has contributed to 21 goals in 26 games as a Hoops player, is expected to be out for at least a couple more weeks, Ange Postecoglou confirmed.
That means he is at risk of missing the Glasgow derby against Rangers on February 2, in what could be a crucial fixture at Celtic Park with Postecoglou’s side currently four points adrift at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The Latest: Dinnery reacts
Dinnery was talking to Football Insider regarding Furuhashi’s injury. This is what he had to say in reply, believing the Japan international could ultimately miss four weeks of action and urged Celtic to be cautious when it comes to a return.
“There are high re-injury and recurrence rates with these injuries.
“That first month is where we see the highest recurrence rates, so we need to be very careful.
“When you suffer a setback, typically you are looking at how long you’ve spent on the sidelines previously and then adding to that.
“He was injured in the Boxing Day fixtures and he’s just returned, so we’re talking a couple of weeks there.
“If he’s been back on the training pitches for around 10 to 14 days, the assumption is it’s a fairly low-grade tear.
“It’s really unfortunate but maybe we’re looking at that two to four week period that he might miss.
“It’s one of those injuries where it makes sense to take a little bit more time with it. The longer you take, the more likely you are to stay fit afterwards.
“Around 40 per cent of all muscle injuries are hamstring injuries. Around the winter months, we see very high prevalence because of the schedule.
“There is likely fatigue involvement, so with Kyogo, we’re looking at maybe early February before he returns.”
The Verdict: Maeda set for first Glasgow derby?
Should Dinnery’s prediction prove accurate and Furuhashi’s absence stretch to four weeks, he will miss the meeting with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.
That could mean that new signing Daizen Maeda will get a first Glasgow derby start, and he proved against Hibernian he is more than up to the task when it comes to leading the line.
It took the 24-year-old just four minutes to score his first Celtic goal, and if he can continue his positive start, you’d expect him to feature ahead of Giorgos Giakoumakis and the injured Furuhashi and Ajeti against Rangers.
In other news: Transfer request submitted - Celtic handed boost as news emerges on possible 5th winter recruit.