A number of Hoops players are already sidelined…
Celtic seem to have suffered another injury blow and the ‘special player’ appears to be plagued with yet another problem.
Celtic injury news; Abada, Nawrocki, Tilio, McCarthy and Welsh
The Hoops and Brendan Rodgers enjoyed a solid start to the Scottish Premiership campaign, sealing a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock before the international break to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points.
They were boosted by the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers, but Liel Abada, Maik Nawrocki, Marco Tilio, James McCarthy and Stephen Welsh were again sidelined. Linden is yet to make his debut after joining Celtic in the summer, while Abada has a thigh problem, McCarthy and Nawrock have muscle problems and Welsh has an ankle injury.
It looks like another player could be added to the five on the treatment table, with Daizen Maeda emerging as Celtic’s injury upgrade. The striker played 89 minutes in Saturday’s win at Parkhead, but reporter Dan Orlowitz shared word from the Japanese FA that Maeda had been ruled out through injury and had been replaced by Hayao Kawabe. How many goals did Daizen Maeda score for Celtic? Maeda moved to Celtic Park in 2022 and helped the club win the domestic treble under former manager Ange Postecoglou last season. The 25-year-old, who can play in multiple attacking roles, has scored 34 goals in 82 appearances for the Hoops, scoring 20 and providing 14 assists. He is also highly regarded at Parkhead, with Alistair Johnston recently describing Maeda as a “special player”.
“Playing with Daizen in front of me is so good. As the gaffer said before, he counts for two players with how much running he does. Daizen’s just rapid and is constantly a threat. He’s so effective. He’s quite a special player to have in front of you. As a full-back, he makes your life much easier.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers praised the attacker’s work rate and ‘unbelievable mentality’.
“I think when you have Daizen Maeda in your team, you don’t really have 10 men. He puts in the work rate of two players – an unbelievable mentality. He gets his reward at the end. Overall, it was a real collective effort from the boys, and they showed outstanding resilience.”
Therefore, Celtic will be hoping that Maeda’s injury isn’t too serious after withdrawing from international duty, and that he can recover in quick time with the Hoops having three games in the final 10 days of the month when domestic action returns, facing Hearts, Atletico Madrid and Hibernian.
