Callum McGregor expressed his admiration for Kyogo for his performance at Celtic despite the ongoing problem.

Celtic captain Callum McGregor reckons that Kyogo Furuhashi’s contributions to the Bhoys are all the more impressive considering he is playing through an ongoing shoulder problem.

The Japanese international’s shoulder again popped out of place in the first half of Saturday’s 3-0 win over Dundee. He had to go off the field to get it back in position before playing on.

That proved to be hugely beneficial to the Bhoys. Kyogo went on to score and assist in the second half, making the afternoon a very comfortable one for the home side. The captain was the man who set-up Kyogo for his headed goal.

McGregor said post-match [Sunday Post, 17/09 print edition]: “He’s had a bit of an ongoing problem with it. So it just shows the character that he wants to play games, he wants to be in the team, he wants to help the team as much as he can.

“He’s top quality. He’s the difference maker for us at the top of the pitch. He’s always cool as ice when he gets his chances.”

Kyogo has scored four goals in his opening six matches for the Bhoys, including the winner in the recent derby victory away to Rangers. He’s shown he hasn’t declined since the departure of Ange Postecoglou.

He’s now well-primed to perform at European level in the Champions League. Kenny Dalglish said earlier today that the striker is the Celtic player he thinks is most well-equipped to make his mark on that stage.

That’s something Kyogo has to prove on the pitch, but his ability and form certainly provides hope he can get the goals needed to win points in that group – even though he has this shoulder problem.