Celtic fans are awaiting an explanation from Brendan Rodgers as four key Celtic stars reportedly miss training on Friday.
Rodgers is having to deal with the loss of winger Jota after he damaged his knee at Tannadice last weekend as Celtic romped to the Premiership title.
It appeared the rest of his first-team squad emerged from the title-winning 5-0 victory in Dundee unscathed. However, that assertion is now in serious doubt.
Sky Sports pitched their cameras up at Lennoxtown on Friday morning to take in Celtic training ahead of their Glasgow derby meeting with Rangers on Sunday.
Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, Alistair Johnston & Jota miss Celtic training
Reporter Gordon Duncan delivered the latest from the training ground and intimated the news that Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, Alistair Johnston and Jota all missed training.
Footage indeed confirmed that all three were missing as cameras filmed the rest of the Celtic squad undergoing a drill in the morning sun.
Jota, of course, was known beforehand, but the other three – who have been crucial for Celtic this season – would be considered massive losses for the Rangers encounter.
Rodgers will set in front of the press at Lennoxtown in the afternoon and undoubtedly the first question asked of him will be to explain the trio’s absences from training.
Maeda, Kuhn & Johnston have been crucial for Celtic
Maeda has been easily the best player in Scotland this season and is the huge favourite to pick up the PFA Scotland Player of the Year gong this month.
The winger turned central striker has blossomed since the £10m departure of Kyogo in January and has scored 33 goals in 47 games across all competitions so far.
He’s also registered 10 assists for the Hoops, two of which came on Sunday against Dundee United as he registered a 8.9 match rating on FotMob.
Kuhn started the season incredibly well, but his form dipped considerably after Christmas. However, the German winger has turned himself around having scored a brace at Tannadice.
Alistair Johnston is a mainstay at right-back and has played the third-most number of minutes for the Bhoys this season – only Callum McGregor and Kasper Schmeichel have played more.
The Canadian made it into the 2025 PFA Scotland Team of the Year, with Maeda and Kuhn also earning deserved spots in the XI.
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