Ange Postecoglou has said that Celtic and Japan striker Kyogo Furuhashi has been selected for international duty.
However, the J League and Bhoys scoring sensation has been injured since the last Japan game. Kyogo pulled up with a knee injury against China, missing important games for Celtic in the process.
Kyogo has 8 caps for Japan, scoring three times. Remarkably, the 26-year-old is still joint-top of the J League scoring charts, alongside former Postecoglou player Daizen Maeda [EPSN].
Reports from Japan over the last day have not included Kyogo in Hajime Moriyasu’s selection [Reuters]. In fact, Kyogo and Real Madrid youngster Takefusa Kubo have only been named as important misses for Japan.
However, today, Postecoglou said Kyogo would be heading away on international break. The Celtic boss said [Celtic FC/YouTube]:
“I’ve just got to be careful.
“I’m keen to get them some game time before the break. Obviously [Callum McGregor is] going away with the Scotland team, Kyogo’s been selected in the Japanese team. So we need to sort of assess where they’re at, so getting them some game-time makes sense.”
Confusing situation for Celtic, Japan and Kyogo as top striker readies return
What does all this mean?
Potentially a lot, or very little. It may have been a slip of the tongue from the Celtic boss, but it certainly didn’t sound like that. It was pretty definitive stuff from Postecoglou.
If Kyogo has been called up, though, why isn’t he in any reported Japan squad? The reputable Japan Times say he’s missing, Reuters say he’s missing, and reporters familiar to English-speaking audiences, like Dan Orlowitz, also don’t have him making the squad.
Yet, given his cordial relationship with footballing officials in Japan, Postecoglou would undoubtedly know the score here.
Just like McGregor, Celtic fans will be desperate for Kyogo to get through the next injury break unscathed. These windows are heart-in-mouth at the best of times, but the injuries sustained at Celtic have been damaging and widespread.
Not least because Celtic were on some great form before Kyogo was lost to injury.
Surely, there’ll be some clarification on this soon. Hopefully, from a Celtic perspective, it’s good news.
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