Celtic and Brendan Rodgers have been made to sweat over two injury concerns midway through the October international break.
Chris Sutton accuses Celtic stars of "hiding"
Despite their Champions League failure, it looked as though Celtic were still likely to be in full control of their title ambitions in the early stages of the campaign. As of late, however, that has not proved to be the case. As Rodgers’ future continues to come into question, the Bhoys’ form has dropped, and they now sit two points behind shock leaders Hearts.
It’s not been the start that those at Celtic Park were anticipating and former striker Chris Sutton has now taken aim.
Speaking in his column for Daily Record, the ex-Celtic star said: “As far as I am concerned, McGregor is struggling a wee bit because of what’s going on around him. He’s simply on a different level to any other player in the current Celtic team.
“It’s just I think there are players in the team currently who are hiding, and that kills the flow. I look at the likes of Reo Hatate. He’s been a shadow of the player we’ve seen at Celtic in recent years.
“Everyone goes through peaks and troughs and Hatate has always been one who could throw in the occasional poor game. But right now he just looks miles off it. We’re not seeing the runs into the box down the left channel, the moments of magic have been few and far between.”
Sutton didn’t hold back and the task that Celtic and Hatate now have is proving him wrong after the international break. It’s then that Rodgers’ side could also be forced to find form without two stars, however, following the latest injury news.
Maeda & Tounekti hand Celtic fresh injury concerns
As relayed by BBC Sport, both Daizen Maeda and Sebastian Tounekti have handed Celtic fresh injury concerns. The former was missing from Japan’s 2-2 draw against Paraguay whilst Tounekti missed Tunisia’s 6-0 victory over Sao Tome, but both have been assessed and are expected to be available after the international break.
Maeda’s suspected foot injury has not been deemed serious, and he could feature in Japan’s game against Brazil on Monday. The same can also be said for Tounekti, whose thigh issue should not rule him out of his country’s clash against Nambia next week.
The latest news will come as a major relief for Celtic, who could especially do with Maeda’s full availability as he looks to get back to full form. The winger has so far scored just three goals in 13 games in all competitions after netting as many as 33 in the last campaign. It’s been a major drop-off and a large part of Celtic’s disappointing form.
Ensuring that he gets back fully fit from international duty should be seen as a priority for all parties. The 27-year-old remains one of the most talented players at Celtic Park and must now get back to that level.