Kyogo Furuhashi continues to manage an ongoing shoulder issue but suggestions that Celtic have been struck with a ‘major injury blow’ seem inaccurate.
It’s long been known that Kyogo has a problem with his shoulder from time to time and Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that it has hampered his pre-season preparations after there was a flare-up in Portugal.
The Celtic boss has now explained what the issue is and suggested that surgery may eventually be needed to fix it, but it appears that won’t be happening ahead of the new campaign despite a rush of headlines suggesting the Bhoys will be without the Japanese star in the early stages of the season.
Rodgers said [Scottish Sun]: “He’s still working on his fitness as he had a problem in Portugal with his shoulder. It’s obviously something he deals with. I’ve seen it in the past with players when their shoulders can pop out a little bit.
“It’s one of those where it probably won’t be totally right until he has an operation on it. But he can obviously get by without that as he’s not in any real pain other than when it pops out.
“Surgery would be down to the player. We had it with Kieran Tierney a few years back when he had a similar thing, but it’s always up to the player. I remember the injury when Kyogo got it too, against Hearts in the last game of the season. He came off — but he’s got that tough mentality, which is great. He’s a fighter, so he’ll get back up to speed.”
So there’s no suggestion that Kyogo will definitely be going under the knife too or that he will be unavailable for the start of the competitive season. Presumably, if he was to undergo surgery it would have happened far earlier in the summer because this problem has been known about for a long time.
Kyogo himself is quoted as saying [Scottish Sun]: “There’s nothing to get better or worse. It’s fine. I’m on the pitch and when you see the game, you’ll see how it is. Last year I expressed my way of playing, I proved what I can do.”
That defiance would also suggest he will continue to feature and appear for the Bhoys. With a full 45 minutes under his belt against Gamba Osaka, Kyogo is working towards match fitness.
The shoulder issue does reinforce that Celtic need quality alternative options in case he has to sit on the sidelines, which may be why Daizen Maeda is now being used as a central striking option. Hyeongyu Oh may also be needed more and more as time goes on.
In other news, Expert Tim Vickery delivers verdict on Celtic’s “exciting” South American transfer target.
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