Japan boss speaks out after Celtic’s Reo Hatate is withdrawn at AFC Asian Cup due to injury

Earlier this month, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda traveled to join up with the Samurai Blue. Hajime Moriyasu chose to leave Yogo Furuhashi in Glasgow at the same time, which wouldn’t have surprised Brendan Rodgers, the head coach of the Houston Rockets. Even still, it doesn’t appear likely that any of the Irishman’s players will be returning to Parkhead anytime soon, after Japan won their match against Bahrain 3-1 earlier today to move on to the tournament’s quarterfinal.

Worryingly, Hatate was withdrawn from the victory with just 36 minutes on the clock due to a calf injury, subsequently being replaced by Hidemasa Morita.

Despite starting the fixture well, the 26-year-old may now be in danger of being sidelined for a period of time; however, we will need to wait and see on that front. On the other hand, his compatriot Maeda was an unused substitute as goals from Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, and Ayase Ueda teed up a tie against either Iran or Syria for a place in the final four.

Hajime Moriyasu speaks out on Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate

Breaking his quiet after the game, Moriyasu stated that he is still awaiting a comprehensive diagnostic from the physician for their national team. He did not, however, divulge too much about the severity of Hatate’s injury. According to Football Scotland, the 55-year-old coach said, “I want to hear the doctor’s diagnosis.” But when someone is hurt, it affects the team as a whole as much as the players.

“But no matter who gets injured, we need to maintain the flow of the game and win. I think today’s match gave me more confidence.” Former Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Hatate has clocked up 121 minutes of action in Qatar across three appearances, chipping in with an assist against Iran on matchday two [Transfermarkt].

Celtic cannot afford to lose Reo Hatate’s intuition

Hatate, who has averaged 2.3 shots per Scottish Premiership games this season [Sofascore], is essentially Celtic’s stirrer in midfield and is trusted to take chances when in possession.

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