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Tomoki Iwata status confirmed as Celtic share intriguing first Lennoxtown images; obvious omission

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Tomoki Iwata has been photographed back in Celtic training.

The non-international first-team stars have been meeting new manager Brendan Rodgers this week, with pre-season training getting underway on Monday.

No footage emerged from that first session, but the club have now shared some Tuesday images from Lennoxtown.

The most intriguing photo shows Rodgers and his new charges grouped together in a circle. (Celtic Twitter)

Present are the likes of Matt O’Riley, Stephen Welsh, Yuki Kobayashi, James Forrest and James McCarthy.

On the coaching side, Harry Kewell, John Kennedy and Glen Driscoll can also be seen.

Celtic Champions Training Day
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

But the biggest take-away from the image is that Iwata is there — and has clearly completed his permanent move to Celtic.

The Japanese midfielder was only on loan last season. While a permanent deal did always seem to be a formality, it is still pleasing to have it confirmed that he’ll be along for the ride this season.

Iwata was an impressive midfield performer from January onwards and it will be exciting to see what role he plays under Rodgers.

Also in the image were a number of Celtic youngsters, including Bosun Lawal and Ben Summers. It will be interesting to see if any of the young crop can make an impression over pre-season.

Leicester City U21 v Celtic U21 -  Premier League International Cup
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images

One obvious omission from the non-international group was Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The USA international hasn’t played since undergoing knee surgery in May. He shouldn’t be too far away from a return to training.

The rest of the squad should be back over the next week. The team will then head to Portugal for some more training and matches as their pre-season preparation steps up.

In other news, Celtic will not be playing any matches in South Korea this summer