“Fantastic” Celtic player out injured for longer than Rodgers first feared

The Hoops look to have been rocked as one of their stars prepares for a period on the sidelines.

Celtic have now seemingly found out the extent of how long one of their players could be out injured for and the news will come as a blow to Brendan Rodgers following the latest developments.

Celtic injury news…

In last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic suffered an injury concern as they enter a congested period of fixtures in the run-up to the Christmas period. Canadian right-back Alistair Johnston was withdrawn from proceedings in Edinburgh due to a head knock after a fiercely struck ball knocked him down. In line with concussion protocols, the 25-year-old was subsequently replaced by Scotland international Anthony Ralston for the remaining 64 minutes of the tie.

Nevertheless, the head blow is not expected to curtail his chances of involvement against St Mirren at Celtic Park on Wednesday as the Hoops aim to maintain their five-point advantage at the top of the league table. Of course, Reo Hatate joined Liel Abada, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh on the sidelines last midweek after hobbling off against Atletico Madrid due to a hamstring issue, which isn’t the first time this campaign that he has experienced problems in this bodily area.

Celtic boss Rodgers mentioned that the Japanese midfielder would be “out for a few weeks” in his pre-match press conference before facing Hibernian, saying: “We don’t have a definitive timeline, but he will definitely be out for a few weeks. We are just waiting for it to settle down and waiting for the result and we will see where he’s at, but it looked quite a bad one.”

Now, it looks like the results are in and the timeframe that the playmaker may spend out due to his problem has been revealed in a fresh injury update.

Reo Hatate injury update

According to an update from The Daily Record, Celtic midfielder Hatate will be sidelined until the New Year after he tore his hamstring against Atletico Madrid. Not many further details have been released about the timescale of his potential return; however, his absence may open up the possibility for Portuguese midfielder Bernardo, defensive midfielder Tomoki Iwata or youngster Odin Thiago Holm to gain a sustained run in Rodgers’ side over the coming weeks, with rotation likely as the Irishman looks to balance his squad and maintain their fitness levels during a busy period.

Of course, Hatate being unavailable will come as a blow to Rodgers and leave a creative void in his engine room, which is evidenced by the fact the Japan international has averaged around 2.3 shots and one key pass per fixture in the Scottish Premiership this term (Hatate stats – WhoScored).

Labelled “fantastic” by former Scotland international James McFadden earlier in 2023, Hatate’s consistent performances have granted him an average match rating in the Scottish top-flight of 7.31/10, according to statistics platform Sofascore. Looking ahead, Celtic manager Rodgers will have to find a way to caveat his absence and he will likely rely on the likes of Matt O’Riley to shoulder the creative burden for the Scottish champions.