Celtic pair Kyogo Furuhashi and Yuki Kobayashi are in Japan training with their former side Vissel Kobe.
The Japanese duo have appeared in some unexpected social media footage posted by the J1 League outfit on Wednesday. (Vissel Kobe Instagram story)
January signing Kobayashi is seen with a big smile on his face, trying to retrieve the ball in the middle of a passing drill.
Furuhashi, meanwhile, is filmed running around in typical fashion while engaging with his former team-mates.
The scenes are pretty unusual from a Scottish point of view. You’d be unlikely to see Giorgos Giakoumakis or Josip Juranovic back at Lennoxtown this summer.
It’s even weirder to see Kyogo and Yuki wearing Vissel Kobe‘s colours despite being contracted to Celtic.
It’s fair to say that the footage is pretty unexpected, from a Celtic supporter’s perspective at least.
However, we’re assured that this kind of thing is perfectly normal in Japan. The players are simply keeping their fitness up ahead of the new campaign.
Of course, Celtic are due in Japan in less than three weeks.
Our 2023 pre-season Asian tour kicks off on July 19 with a game against Yokohama F. Marinos.
After that we face Gamba Osaka (July 22) and Wolves in South Korea (July 26).
Furuhashi and Kobayashi will have to be back in Scotland before that, with the team likely to return to training near the start of next month.
The appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager will offer every player a fresh start, and that could be useful to Kobayashi who has had a mixed start to life in Scotland.
Kyogo, meanwhile, will be looking to add to the 54 goals he’s netted so far.
In other news, Kieran Tierney would consider a return to Celtic on loan according to a report
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