Celtic striker Daizen Maeda has pulled out of the Japan national team squad due to “poor condition”, the Japanese FA has confirmed.
Maeda was due to feature for the Blue Samurai in World Cup qualification matches against Australia and Japan respectively.
The attacker featured for 90 minutes on Saturday in our 4-0 hammering of Ross County. He ended the match with plenty of energy too, with footage going around of him chasing lost causes with just minutes remaining.
However, the JFA has announced that Maeda is in “poor condition”. They won’t be calling up any replacements to take his spot, but Maeda now won’t be competing for his country over the next 8 days.
The news will immediately strike some fear into the Celtic supporters. We’l all be praying that this isn’t actually anything serious and that it’s just a fatigue issue.
Celtic’s next game comes in just under 2 weeks when they take the trip to Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.
Daizen Maeda will have plenty of rest time before Rangers vs Celtic
As things stand, you have to imagine Maeda would be one of Ange’s first names on the team-sheet. He continues to be utilised in the starting XI on a consistent basis and has only recently started to pick up his form.
He’s put in some brilliant displays against Livingston, Dundee United, and Ross County respectively. He’s hopefully destined to do the same in Govan if he’s fit enough to feature.
Fans will now be eagerly awaiting Ange Postecoglou’s next update on the attacker. Granted, it doesn’t have to be a serious issue in order for him to drop out of the squad.
There is a silver lining to this in that Maeda now won’t be strained by the physical exertions of an intense Japanese camp over the next week. He’s certainly given plenty of energy in recent weeks and could do with the break.
All we can do is hope that this is a fatigue issue more than anything. He didn’t end the game on Saturday with any noticeable knocks, which is a plus for the Hoops.
Fingers crossed all is well.
In other news, Ange explains why Celtic needed to “make a statement” at Parkhead yesterday
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