DAIZEN MAEDA is out of the St Mirren tie on Saturday and could be out for the rest of the season after it was confirmed by the Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at Friday’s press conference.
The Japanese winger who scored at Ibrox last Sunday has picked up a hamstring injury which the club is still assessing. Brendan Rodgers speaking at the conference wouldn’t rule the player out for the rest of the season but admitted they don’t know for sure how bad it is.
“Daizen will miss the weekend, he picked up an injury high up in his hamstring. We will have to see what that looks like over the coming weeks” The Celtic manager told Celtic TV.
“We’ll see where that goes in the next week or so and we’ll understand better what inclusion he will have between now and the end of the season.
This is the tale of Celtic’s season, we have not been able to call on our best XI for most of the season and that includes the trip to Ibrox last week. Just as we get CCV and Hatate back, Callum McGregor goes down, just as Callum McGregor gets back on his feet, Daizen picks up an injury.
The season almost seems cursed!
Celtic have six league games left and if they win all of them, they will win the league. However, going in without Maeda is a bitter blow to a player who has been brilliant this season but particularly in the last month or so.
Brendan Rodgers might need to recall Luis Palma straight back into the first team after he recovered from an injury that’s kept the Honduran out for the last five games.
Maeda’s pace and intensity are huge to Celtic and while some complain about the players final ball at times, the goal at Ibrox was absolutely to do with his constant pressing to keep teams at bay.
We will see how it pans out but hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky and if you rush him back, you risk serious damage.
