Reo Hatate opens up on Celtic injury hell: Feeling depressed, concerned parents, desperation to win as many titles as possible

Now fully fit and in line to face Rangers, Hatate speaks candidly on being sidelined for several months

Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate has lifted the lid on his injury woes this season, revealing that being sidelined for several months left him “feeling depressed”.

The 26-year-old has made just 12 appearances for Celtic this season, firstly injuring his hamstring in a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid before hurting both calves while on international duty with Japan during a match against Bahrain. After weeks of recuperation, Hatate is now back fully fit for Celtic as they look to retain the cinch Premiership title amid fierce competition from Rangers, and he is set to start the Old Firm match at Ibrox on Sunday.

“I have been repeatedly injured and not been able to contribute to the team,” said Hatate. “I want to win as many titles as possible and I want to show the Celtic fans a performance that once again makes them think, ‘Celtic need Reo Hatate’. During my rehabilitation in preparation for my return, I reviewed everything. This included preparation for competitions, physical strength, training content and diet. The most recent injury was my third this season and although it was in a different location, it was a huge shock to have sustained a similar injury over and over again.

Celtic's Reo Hatate is in line to face Rangers after months on the sidelines.

“When I returned to Scotland after the Asian Cup, my heart sank for a while. I had also been injured in a match against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 25 last year. I was disappointed at that moment, but quickly recovered. I thought to myself, ‘I will definitely recover from my injury and participate in the Asian Cup’. By setting clear goals for my return, I was able to stay much more positive. However, this time, it was difficult for me to change my mind because I had been injured playing in a competition that had been my goal.”

Writing in his Sportiva diary, Hatate continued: “I handled my feelings and emotions as I felt them and I spent a lot of time feeling depressed. However, that doesn’t mean I cut corners in my rehab or that I neglected my daily life. I was doing my best in everything but, to put it simply, I just wasn’t motivated and had no energy. However, there are people who care about me and who worry about me, including, of course, my family. My father was concerned about my injury and my mother was also concerned about my condition. They contacted me, which naturally led me to become more positive.

“It’s one thing not to force yourself to control or maintain your feelings and sometimes just to surrender to the flow. There are very few people who have everything going well in their life. What seems like a long detour to you often turns out to be a shortcut. There are times when I have thought I didn’t have to experience something. But later I realise I was glad I had. The same goes for injuries. I realised that, whether you think it’s a waste of time or whether you can even use that time to your advantage, depends on your own way of thinking and how you perceive it.

“After the injury, I looked back at myself and thought the following, ‘Why this timing?’. Now that I think about it, there was something off about the match against Bahrain. This is just an afterthought and it’s just a feeling, but even when I was playing, I felt a little different than usual. The feeling of passing was a little different than usual and I might not have been able to see my surroundings as usual.

Hatate suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

“In terms of distance, the error was only one or two centimetres. In terms of volume of work, the difference was only one or two marks on the scale. But I really felt a definite difference. Conditions vary from game to game, so I don’t think that was a factor that directly led to the injury. However, when an accident occurs, it is probably due to a combination of these factors. I was unable to swallow my frustration on the pitch, but after the Asian Cup my feelings for the Japanese national team grew even more. I’ve always wanted to contribute to the Japan national team. But after experiencing that tournament it became a place where I wanted to stay and stay here, so that became my goal.”

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