Hatate has only just got back to his peak form and fitness so it is a blow for both Celtic and the player that he could miss the rest of the year through injury. Rodgers confirmed on Friday that the 25-year-old is sidelined for a number of weeks and the likelihood is that he won’t be fully up to speed until the start of 2024.

Paulo Bernardo, the midfielder on loan from Benfica, is the prime candidate to replace Hatate in this Celtic team. David Turnbull appears to have fallen down the pecking order following a strong start to life under Rodgers and the Portuguese was preferred to Tomoki Iwata as Hatate’s substitute against Atletico. The 21-year-old has yet to start for Celtic but Rodgers is expected to call upon him against Hibs on Saturday afternoon at Easter Road.

His captain Callum McGregor was impressed by Bernardo’s performance against the La Liga giants. “He showed his discipline,” said McGregor. “He's looked after himself, to come in and be game-ready as well. It's different when you're training. He came in and was at that level throughout the game. He ran his socks off, showed really good moments of quality and fitted into the team really seamlessly. He can be happy with his night. It shows you the strength we've got in the squad.”

Paulo Bernardo impressed for Celtic during the match against Atletico.

Celtic fans would be forgiven for wondering what type of player Bernardo is but McGregor gave a good resume on his team-mate. “He's technical, as you would imagine, coming from abroad. He wants to be on the ball, he wants to make things happen. You can see that from the little glimpses he had against Atletico. And listen, he's not shy in working hard and I think in our team – and in modern-day football – you have to be able to run, and press, and do the other side of the game as well."

Hibs are the last team to defeat Celtic on Premiership duty, albeit their 4-2 triumph in May was recorded after the Glasgow side had snared the title. McGregor is well-versed on switching between European and domestic commitments and knows taking care of the team’s “bread and butter” is required in Edinburgh.

“We put a lot of energy into the game against Atletico,” continued McGregor. “Big emotion, the stadium, all these things, so you’ve just got to recover. The next two days will be barely anything - we prep the game against Hibs, get through to Edinburgh and get our feet up, and the mental challenge is can we go again. We have to go there and win, because if you want nights like Atletico, you have to win the league. That's the bread and butter for this group and we'll be ready. It's part of the job – you've got to do it, if you want to win things you've got to switch your mentality on.”

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