Former Celtic striker John Hartson has been reviewing the weekend’s resounding win over Aberdeen, including the injury to Kyogo Furuhashi and the impact of Luis Palma.
Kyogo went off injured 52 minutes into the game after receiving four minutes of medical attention following a collision with Aberdeen defender Slobodan Rubezic. The Japanese international did post a promising update on Instagram after the worrying head injury.
Brendan Rodgers also described the challenge as nasty, and BBC Sportsound pundits were in agreement that it was a dangerous incident.
Luis Palma was also a standout in the match and Hartson is really enjoying his emergence within the Celtic squad.
Hartson said: [Go Radio], “A really bad injury for Kyogo; I thought it was a really nasty clash, and I felt it straight away. I was praying for him, that he’d make a full recovery and he’d be okay, because when you see something like that it looks quite sickening on the pitch.
“It’s the way to react from a really heavy defeat. I thought they bounced back very well I thought they looked sharp at the weekend with three or four players getting on the scoresheet. From a Celtic win point of view, they really turned it on at the weekend, alright. Aberdeen, I think Barry (Robson) wasn’t particularly happy with them. I thought they were a bit sloppy at times, but listen, that’s not Celtic’s fault. They went out, the crowd got behind them, and they won 6-0. It was a wonderful way to react.
“I think a lot of people wanted to see Luis Palma get a run. He’s finally getting the run of games, and he’s living up to that. He can take players on; he’s got wonderful delivery. He can cut inside, like he showed against Ross County a few weeks ago and smashed one in from 30 yards, great technique.
“I’m delighted that he’s getting a run because naturally, when you feel that you’re a part of the team, when you’re in the team every week, you’ll get better and better because we all play on confidence. So, while he’s scoring goals and making goals, then he’ll only get better as a Celtic player. There’s always pressure when you come to the club, but what you want to do is make a big impact, and to do that, you need a good run of games.”
Kyogo was called up to the Japan squad last week but will stay with Celtic during the international break to recover from Sunday’s incident. The Hoops striker has continued where he left off last season, scoring eight goals in 18 games this season, the most of any Celtic player.
Palma meanwhile has landed in Honduras to prepare with his national team for matches against Mexico over the coming week. Hopefully he can continue his confidence-boosting form on the international stage and return home injury free.
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