The most recent terrible news is that Reo Hatate sustained an injury while representing Japan in the Asian Cup while serving on foreign service.
Asian Cup in football In the second half of a football match at the Asian Cup group stage against Indonesia at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on January 24, 2024, Japan’s Reo Hatate considers his options.
The news that Reo Hatate hobbled off injured for Japan due to what appears to be a repeat of the calf ailment that has kept him out for the past few months has raised even more doubts about Celtic Park and Lennoxtown. During the Asian Cup match against Bahrain, the midfield player went down holding his calf.
His expression was telling; it appeared to be a bad one that might keep him out for several more months. Naturally, a complete diagnosis is necessary before we can know anything for sure, but given the current state of affairs, it doesn’t seem promising.
On October 07, 2023, at Celtic Park, during the Scottish Premiership game between Celtic and Kilmarnock, Reo Hatate celebrates scoring his team’s first goal. (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images photo)
Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic supporters have been dealt a severe blow by this. When he is at his best, Reo Hatate is the most technically gifted player in the nation, so losing him for the most important portion of the season will seriously hurt our chances of winning the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup.
Reo’s return to full fitness was compared to signing a new player, but in light of the news from today, we will need to find a new player to take his position. Perhaps the team will decide to keep David Turnbull after all, or perhaps they will provide an update on Tomoki Iwata, who looked to have vanished out of sight after hobbling off against Feyenoord in mid-December and was never heard from again.
Hopefully, this new injury won’t be too serious, and if his Asian Cup run is done, he should be heading back to Glasgow on the first available flight.
Merely a Typical Boy
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