Celtic have had a plethora of injuries to deal with this season as Brendan Rodgers got his feet under the Parkhead table for the second time in his career.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, Stephen Welsh and Maik Nawrocki have all spent some time on the treatment table.
And I haven’t even mentioned Greg Taylor, Alistair Johnston and Daizen Maeda. It really has been a bit of a nightmare for Brendan Rodgers.
However, it was the loss of McGregor that every Celtic fan dreaded. The Hoops captain is the heartbeat of the team and has been the driving force behind our successes over the last two seasons.
And without him, our season could very well have derailed.
Nevin praises ‘superb’ Reo Hatate
Pat Nevin was speaking about the weekend win which saw Celtic go into a 2-0 lead minus the captain.
McGregor is being eased back into the Hoops first team as he makes his way back from injury and came on in the 71st-minute against St Mirren.
But by then, Celtic were already in a commanding lead and Nevin hailed Reo Hatate for stepping up in the absence of the Hoops captain.
Nevin said [Scottish Football Podcast], “Sometimes you look at certain players and you’re wanting energy levels, you’re wanting commitment and you want a little bit of quality as well.
“And it sounds as if I’m just describing him. That’s exactly what you want with a certain player in those positions.
“It can go up and down with any player during the season but when McGregor has had less of an influence because of the injury you need people to stand up.
“I’ve played in teams where you know who the main man is and when the main man is not there you kind of breathe a wee bit. You say it’s up to me now.
“And certainly Hatate has been good anyway this season, superb for the last couple of seasons but he looks alright.
“He’s definitely okay and comfortable with that situation. He’s not suffering with any pressure.”
It’s incredible to think that Hatate has made just eleven appearances for Celtic this season with the Japan international completing 90 minutes on just one occasion. [Transfermarkt]
But after impressing against Rangers and then putting St Mirren to the sword, Hatate now looks back to his best as Celtic heads into the final five games of the season.
With another Glasgow Derby still to come, the Celtic support will be delighted that McGregor and Hatate look like they will be fit and ready alongside Matt O’Riley for one last push for the title.
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