'Sleepless nights': Ange Postecoglou explains circumstances over Kyogo Furuhashi injury

The apparent hamstring injury sustained by Celtic talisman Kyogo Furuhashi was the product of the sort of decision by Ange Postecoglou that gives the Australian “sleepless nights”.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou commiserates with  Kyogo Furuhashi after he is forced off with injury during the  3-2 win over Real Betis. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou commiserates with  Kyogo Furuhashi after he is forced off with injury during the  3-2 win over Real Betis. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou commiserates with Kyogo Furuhashi after he is forced off with injury during the 3-2 win over Real Betis. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The Japanese striker was one of a raft of players left out of the Celtic’s starting line-up for the 3-2 win over Real Betis on Thursday as Postecoglou sought to give his mainstays a breather in the midst of a hectic schedule. However, a hamstring injury sustained by Albian Ajeti only 27 minutes into the Europa League encounter that had nothing riding on it led to Furuhashi being introduced, only to suffer the same fate as the Swiss with 19 minutes of normal time remaining.

The Celtic manager admits the turn of events proved exasperating with the indeterminate absence of Furuhashi likely to leave him with no senior central strikers for the encounter with Motherwell, Giorgos Giakoumakis also still working his way back to fitness following a knee problem.

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“It’s frustrating. Those are the decisions you make as a manager,” said the 56-year-old. “You probably have a sleepless night thinking about the different scenarios. But my whole ethos has always been that you go out there and you go for things. You never hold back. It has served me well up until now and I’ll continue to do that with the way I want my team to play and the decisions I make. It’s just my nature to be more aggressive than sometimes people think I need to be. But we will get our rewards because of that.”

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