Celtic boss issues Kyogo update ahead of Cup Final

By Euan Davidson

December 14, 2021

Ange Postecoglou has given Celtic supporters some optimism over Kyogo being able to play against Hibernian on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup Final.

Kyogo was taken off injured against Real Betis last week, with Postecoglou saying the situation was “not good”. Yesterday offered some more hope, with the boss offering a two to three week timeline.

At the weekend, Celtic played Motherwell without a recognised striker. Both Albian Ajeti and Giorgos Giakoumakis remain out with injuries.

Today, though, Ange Postecoglou shed some more light on the Kyogo situation, speaking ahead of the trip to face Ross County in Dingwall tomorrow night.

Postecoglou said [Sky Sports]:

“I’d expect him to be back at some point in the next week or so, from the way he’s improving at the moment. With these things, you’re kind of relying on everything running smoothly. It [doesn’t] always go that way. If he has a setback, that might hold him back a little bit further.

“Him and the medical team are working hard, we’ll see what happens.”

Potentially promising Kyogo update will have Celtic fans excited

To be fair to Ange Postecoglou, he does tend to deal in absolutes. If there was no chance of Kyogo playing for Celtic against Hibs on Sunday, he’d rule it out.

That said, we’ve seen already with James Forrest and Greg Taylor that bringing back players too quickly can cause bigger problems down the road. Yes it’s a big occasion, but it’s one to handle carefully.

Kyogo, for his part, seems like the kind of player who’d try to carry on if his leg was hanging off. So it’s going to be one for the medical team at Celtic to assess with total care. If there was a chance of getting him on the pitch for Sunday, Kyogo himself would grasp it with both hands.

It’s an exciting enough occasion. While Ross County tomorrow night offer a potentially tricky warm-up, Sunday is a great way of assessing the season so far, while instilling a galvanising, winning mentality amongst the players. Especially the newer ones, who have provided a huge lift to the ranks at Celtic.

Having Kyogo is so obviously a benefit. Not just to the team, but to the fans, who will feel far more confident with him in the side than out of it.

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