Reo Hatate has now delivered an update Celtic fans will be encouraged by

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Reo Hatate marked his Celtic comeback from a hamstring injury in the final Scottish Premiership game before the winter break.

Of course, it was in the 3-0 away triumph over St Mirren on January 2 as the Japanese midfielder earned 19 minutes of action as a substitute.

It was fantastic sight for the travelling Hoops support and those watching on TV given Hatate had been sidelined since the end of October.

From a selfish Celtic point of view, it would have been reassuring to see Hatate left out of Japan’s Asian Cup squad this month for the tournament in Qatar.

But manager Hajime Moriyasu opted to pick his five-time capped star and included Hatate in the matchday squad for Japan’s first group fixture against Vietnam.

However, Hatate alongside Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda remained unused substitutes for the thrilling clash which the Samurai Blue won 4-2.

That was likely due to Hatate’s severe lack of game time over the last couple of months. But ahead of Japan’s next game against Iraq on Friday morning, Hatate delivered an update from the Japan camp on his improving fitness.

Reo Hatate update music to Celtic ears

Reo Hatate was speaking to the Japanese outlet Gekisaka in Qatar and had this to say about what he can offer to his national team and how his fitness is coming along.

The 26-year-old said: “First of all, what can I do for the team? The best thing to do is to do my best for the team, and in addition to that, I want to get results such as goals.

“I think if you do it for the sake of others, they will follow you, so I hope I can do my best to help the team win. The team’s training has been very intense, and I feel like my condition is improving.”

It’s positive to hear Hatate is improving his fitness under what he describes as ‘very intense’ training with Japan whilst on Asian Cup duty.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to discover Hatate working on a separate regime to the rest of the squad given his recent return from injury but it appears he isn’t.

All the Celtic faithful can hope for is a successful tournament for Hatate and Maeda with their country and a safe and injury-free return back to Glasgow for the second-half of the Scottish domestic season.