Kyogo Furuhashi: Medical team ruling on Celtic ace is not good - but Ange Postecoglou unsure of timescale

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is remaining non-committal over the prospects of Kyogo Furuhashi returning for next Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final against Hibs.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Japanese striker missed the 1-0 win over Motherwell with a hamstring injury sustained in midweek, with the club ending the game without five attackers – James Forrest being forced off with a hamstring injury that sees him added to a casualty list composed of winger Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Albian Ajeti. Postecoglou is circumspect about how quickly Furuhashi can be removed from that list.

“Mate, I could say yes, I could say no,” the Australian said when asked if Furuhashi had a chance of making the final. “If you ask Kyogo he probably would have played today, if you ask the medical team, they would say he’s out for two or three weeks. I’m kind of taking a stab in the dark in the middle somewhere, but I’ve no idea. I’ll be guided by the medical team and Kyogo. I can’t rule him out for anything at the moment, but you can’t rule him in.”

Meanwhile, Furuhashi has declared Glasgow as his “second home” already through having settled and “loving the football here”. Speaking to Celtic TV, the 26-year-old, who arrived from Vissel Kobe in his native Japan on a £4.6million deal at the end of July, has admitted he is bowled over by the reaction of a Celtic faithful who have fallen for him completely with his ceaseless running style bagging him 14 goals already.

“I am happy and honoured to be able to play in front of all the supporters here,” Furuhashi said. “Being able to play my style of football and seeing the reaction and excitement of the fans has given me so much motivation. [The favourite moments have been] when anyone scores, the whole stadium goes wild at once. That’s special and absolutely amazing. When it comes to goals, every goal is special for me. Thanks to everyone’s effort and support, I can score goals. So if I can make everyone happy by doing that then I am truly happy too.I like Glasgow and I feel it’s easy to live here. I think I can call it my second home now.”

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