Reo Hatate came off the bench at half-time at Pittodrie on Sunday and looked mightily impressive until he went down injured after playing for around 20 minutes. The Japanese midfielder had been benched for the opening two matches of the new season, with David Turnbull preferred by Brendan Rodgers for his starting eleven against both Ross County and Aberdeen.
Hatate looked like a man out to prove a point but the calf injury he picked up at the weekend looks like keeping him out for around four weeks, so that of course means he will miss the first Glasgow Derby of the season at Ibrox at the beginning of September.
Now it has been reported that following a scan, Celtic’s Japan international midfielder has reportedly suffered a grade two calf tear with Stephen McGowan at the Scottish Daily Mail stating that this is expected to sideline the player for around four weeks.
McGowan reports: ‘Reo Hatate faces a race against time to be fit for Celtic’s Old Firm (sic) trip to Ibrox to face arch-rivals Rangers at the start of next month. A half-time substitute in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Aberdeen, the Japanese midfielder lasted 25 minutes before succumbing to a calf injury.
Mail Sport understands that tests revealed a grade two calf tear, with an anticipated recovery time of three or four weeks. The champions travel to Ibrox to meet Michael Beale’s side on 3 September, with Hatate now a significant doubt.’
The only positive is that the transfer window will be closed before Hatate plays again, and maybe the fact that he is injured will discourage any interest in the player in the summer transfer window.
David Turnbull impressed at Celtic Park on the flag-day opener against Ross County but the first half at Pittodrie seemed to pass him by and Brendan Rodgers hooked him at the internal to send on Hatate.
Another Celtic midfielder who came off the bench at Pittodrie in the second half and made a favourable impression was Norwegian summer signing Odin Thiago Holm and the 20-year old former Valerenga star could find that he will be given an early opportunity to make an impact at Celtic over the next four weeks.
One midfielder who does look like leaving Celtic in this window is Ismaila Soro, with reports coming through last night that Celtic have accepted an offer of £128,000 for the Ivory Coast-born midfielder, from French Ligue 2 side Valenciennes.
Soro, 26, joined Celtic in a deal worth around £2million from Israeli outfit Bnei Yehuda in January 2020. He agreed a four-and-a-half year deal at Celtic and has worked under Neil Lennon and Ange Postecoglou but is not part of Brendan Rodgers’ plans in this the final 12 months of his contract.
Having been on loan in Portugal last season, Soro is now set to try his luck in French football and we wish him the best of luck.
🇯🇵 | 𝗥𝗲𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 – 𝗜𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱
Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate is a ‘significant doubt’ for the crucial fixture vs Rangers on September 3rd.
Hatate suffered a grade two calf tear vs Aberdeen with a recovery time of around three to four weeks.
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— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) August 16, 2023
