DAIZEN MAEDA was missing for Celtic’s match against Hearts, the Japanese striker will also miss Saturday’s encounter with Dundee United and the Glasgow derby next Wednesday.
While speaking about his international call-up, he revealed that he hopes Kyogo Furuhashi will be back soon for both club and county.
Celtic’s Hampden hero striker is currently sidelined due to his injury, however, Postecoglou has not put a timeline on Kyogo’s comeback and Celtic fans are in the dark as to when they will see him play again.
“I’ve only played two games so far for Celtic, but it’s going well. I know that I have been called up not because of the transfer, but because of my achievements last season in Japan. To stay in this team I will have to fight hard for Celtic and score goals for them too.
“Last year in November I got called up, but never got off the bench and I have a feeling of regret over that. I think every player feels like that if they don’t get on. But it makes me even more determined to make an impact in these two games. I hope I can do something that will be enough to take us to the World Cup Finals.
“Kyogo Furuhashi wished me good luck before I left and I hope he is back soon.”[Daily record]
Optimistic fans are predicting the striker may be available on Wednesday 2nd February, but there has been no indication to this except Postecoglou having previous for surprising fans with line-ups including players who were thought to miss the match through injury.
Bayer Leverkusen and Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup final are great examples of this.
Daizen will be focussing on making an impact on his national side.
Finishing the Japanese league’s top goal scorer last season has allowed him to be selected for these World Cup qualifiers.
Having already scored in the Scottish Premiership, he will be looking to push higher up the scoring charts, in this season, and the season’s to come.
