Japan boss speaks out after Celtic’s Reo Hatate is withdrawn at AFC Asian Cup due to injury

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Japan have two Celtic players among their ranks at the AFC Asian Cup and are deemed as one of the favourites to claim silverware in Qatar.

Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda both travelled to join up with the Samurai Blue earlier this month. At the same time, Hajime Moriyasu opted to leave Kyogo Furuhashi in Glasgow, which wouldn’t have come as a disappointment to Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t look likely that either of the Irishman’s involved players will be back at Parkhead any time soon after Japan defeated Bahrain 3-1 earlier today to advance to the quarter-final of the tournament.

Worryingly, Hatate was withdrawn from the victory with just 36 minutes on the clock due to a calf injury, subsequently being replaced by Hidemasa Morita.

Despite starting the fixture well, the 26-year-old may now be in danger of being sidelined for a period of time; however, we will need to wait and see on that front.

On the other hand, his compatriot Maeda was an unused substitute as goals from Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, and Ayase Ueda teed up a tie against either Iran or Syria for a place in the final four.

Hajime Moriyasu speaks out on Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate

Breaking his silence post-match, Moriyasu didn’t give too much away regarding the extent of Hatate’s injury as he revealed that he is waiting to hear a full diagnosis from their national team’s doctor.

The 55-year-old coach stated [Football Scotland]: “I want to hear the diagnosis from the doctor. However, it hurts both the players and the team when someone gets injured.

“But no matter who gets injured, we need to maintain the flow of the game and win. I think today’s match gave me more confidence.”

Former Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Hatate has clocked up 121 minutes of action in Qatar across three appearances, chipping in with an assist against Iran on matchday two [Transfermarkt].

Celtic cannot afford to lose Reo Hatate’s intuition

In many ways, Hatate is the instigator for Celtic in midfield and is trusted to take risks in possession, evidenced by the fact he has averaged 2.3 shots per Scottish Premiership match this campaign [Sofascore].

The Japan international only just recovered from a hamstring injury just before the winter break that kept him out since late October.

David Turnbull could also be on his way out this window if rumours are to be believed, with Cardiff City looking to take him off the books at Parkhead, which could leave a lack of depth in the Hoops’ engine room.

Undoubtedly, Rodgers will be waiting nervously to find out whether his star man’s new issue is a major concern or merely a minor knock, though the initial signs don’t look promising.