Ange Postecoglou confirms Celtic midfielder set to miss Ross County trip

By Lewis Laird

August 5, 2022

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that midfielder Reo Hatate will miss this weekend’s trip to face Ross County.

The 24-year-old made a positive start to the season, taking his place in the starting line-up against Aberdeen last weekend.

Alongside Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley, the Japanese internationalist has had a good summer and will have been looking to build upon strong showings in pre-season.

However, during the 2-0 win over the Dons at Celtic Park on Sunday, the midfielder was forced off with a knock after 65 minutes.

Ahead of the Hoops second game of the campaign, when we travel to Dingwall on Saturday afternoon, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media and providing the latest on his squad.

Attending this afternoon’s press conference was Celtic podcast ‘4 Tims and a Pod‘, who posted updates of what Postecoglou had to say.

The 56-year-old appears to have confirmed that Reo Hatate will miss tomorrow afternoon’s game, ruling him out of contention for the squad.

We await further confirmation of what Postecoglou had to say fully regarding the fitness of the midfielder. However, it certainly seems like last weekend’s knock will see him miss out on Saturday.

It is unclear at this stage how long the former Kawasaki Frontale man will be out for, but I am sure the Celtic manager and coaching staff will be hoping to see the midfielder return to full fitness as soon as possible.

The perfect chance for David Turnbull to step-up after Hatate injury news.

Another player who has had a positive pre-season alongside Hatate is fellow midfielder and Scotland internationalist David Turnbull.

The 23-year-old made a late return to action towards the back end of the 2021/22 campaign after spending several months on the sidelines through injury.

Despite his injury issues, Turnbull finished off the season strongly, scoring in the trophy day victory over Motherwell back in May.

He may have found himself on the bench for the first game of the season. However, he put in another positive showing as a substitute, providing the assist for Jota’s stunning second-half strike.

After the news that Hatate will miss out tomorrow afternoon, it feels as though Turnbull will be the man primed to step up and replace him.

It will also provide the ex-Motherwell youngster with the perfect opportunity to showcase why he deserves a run of starts in the starting 11 as the new season schedule gets set to ramp up.

Hopefully, we can see Turnbull produce another good performance on Saturday and help the Bhoys come away from the highlands with another three points.

In other news, Kieran Tierney discusses his emotions surrounding Celtic exit.