Ange's update on Celtic duo Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda shouldn't be overlooked

By John McGinley

April 2, 2022

The news that Kyogo Furuhashi has returned to fitness has dominated the Celtic news scene over the last 36 hours.

There’s good reason for that, he’s a sensation and undoubtedly gives us a huge boost heading into the closing stages of the season.

But there was more good news beyond Kyogo.

Heading into the international break two of the biggest concerns surrounded Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda, both of whom have also been passed fit for the Rangers game and the rest of the season.

Rogic picked up an ankle injury from a red card challenge in the Ross County fixture and had to miss crucial Australia World Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, Maeda was forced to drop out of the Japan squad due to ‘low condition’.

In his press conference yesterday, Postecoglou confirmed both were available and had a more specific update on Rogic, explaining [Celtic YouTube]: “If we had a game last week he wouldn’t have played. He didn’t train at all last week so after the knock he struggled.

“Having a long week this week he didn’t train on Monday or Tuesday but he’s put in a couple of sessions now and he feels pretty good. So he’s available again.”

This is good news after Postecoglou sounded a bit worried about Rogic last week.

Although a lot of people are going with Matt O’Riley over Rogic in tomorrow’s starting eleven, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the manager go with his compatriot.

Likewise, Maeda is a very strong candidate to start the game. His off the ball work and pace could cause Rangers all sorts of problems.

In fact, you could argue that both are more likely to play tomorrow than Kyogo himself, despite all the excitement.

The bad news on the injury front yesterday came regarding James Forrest. The winger has still not recovered from a problem picked up in the Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Dundee United. He missed the Ross County game and will miss tomorrow.

In other news, What a strike: Celtic post video of today’s must-see Owen Moffat wonder goal.