Kyogo Furuhashi: Despondent Celtic manager offers update on forward's fitness after injury

A despondent Ange Postecoglou said Celtic will need to “wait and see” over the fitness of Kyogo Furuhashi after the Japanese forward picked up a hamstring injury in the 3-2 win over Real Betis

Kyogo Furuhashi lies on the turf during Celtic's 3-2 win over Betis.

The 26-year-old was originally left on the bench for the dead rubber Europa League clash in Glasgow, but was called into action when Albian Ajeti had to be taken off with a hamstring injury of his own after just 28 minutes.

Furuhashi suffered a leg injury midway through the second half and then crumpled to the turf on 70 minutes. He was immediately substituted for Ewan Henderson.

The summer signing from Vissel Kobe went immediately down the tunnel for treatment.

Postecoglou said on Furuhashi: “We’ll see. It’s not good. We would’ve preferred to have given Kyogo less time (on the pitch).”

Celtic will be desperate for the player to stay fit given that Jota is out until the new year with his own hamstring complaint, while Ajeti also looks likely to be out for a period of time. Giorgios Giakoumakis, a summer signing from Vitesse, is sidelined by a knee injury.

Celtic face Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup on December 19 and Rangers in the league on January 2.

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