Brendan Rodgers has confirmed this afternoon that Daizen Maeda will come back into the Celtic squad for this weekend’s match against Hearts. The Bhoys take on the Edinburgh side once again in Scottish Premiership action in what could be another crucial clash during the the title run-in.
The Hoops of course have lost twice to Heart of Midlothian this season after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat back in December during a poor run just before Christmas time. It coincided with a loss away to Derek McInnes and his Kilmarnock team the weekend beforehand, and many where questioning whether Rodgers had the ability to guide this squad to a third title in a row.
But Brendan corrected our course of travel and with some players returning from major injuries and a renaissance from some others too, we have managed to put ourselves right back in contention to win another League and Cup double. There’s no denying we need all the help we can get as the the pressure reaches boiling point and Maeda’s timely return couldn’t be more critical.
With theRangers visiting the home of the Champions next week on 11 May, we have the possibility of clinching it if the most recent Ibrox club slip up against the aforementioned McInnes and his boys this weekend too. The two clash at Ibrox stadium and should we overcome Hearts and they falter, the power and the glory could all be ours if we see them off the following Saturday at home.
Speaking to Sky Sports Scotland today, Rodgers confirmed his Japanese machine would be back in contention after a few weeks out. “He’ll come into the squad for the weekend,” he said. It’s great news for us. Thinking that he was maybe not going to be available was the initial thinking, medically.
“But he’s recovered remarkably well. And I think we all see that he’s a specimen physically. So he’s got back and it’s obviously brilliant news for us.”
Watch Brendan discuss Daizen’s return and more below…
🗣️ “Scoreboard pressure is always there but it doesn’t count for nothing if you don’t do the job…”
Manager of the month Brendan Rodgers on his award, Maeda’s return, reaction to the VAR errors confirmed in their Hearts loss and putting pressure on Rangers in the title race ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lNj374YEL8
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 3, 2024
Paul Gillespie
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