Ange Postecoglou this evening gave a very positive injury update regarding three of our first team regulars, as Celtic near a return to full strength in what seems like the first time this season. After a truly horrendous run of injuries to key players the only remaining players to come back at this point are January signing Ideguchi, Kyogo and Turnbull, and the Australian had good news regarding the trio. The manager told Celtic TV:
“Yosuke is training with the group. He won’t be ready for Wednesday but should be alright for the weekend which is promising. We’re getting to that point (full strength). It’s only been in the last few days. We’ve still got Kyogo and David Turnbull to get through their rehab.”
Ideguchi was injured in only his second appearance for the club, when Celtic faced Barry Ferguson’s boot boys Alloa on 22 January in the Scottish Cup, after being on the receiving end of a horror tackle by Mouhamed Niang. To be honest he has been rather fortunate not to be out for longer as it really was a nasty looking injury. Ironically the next time we see him could once again be in the Scottish cup against Raith Rovers this Sunday.
David Turnbull hasn’t been seen since he suffering a hamstring injury as Celtic won their first trophy of the season when they claimed the League Cup against Hibs on 19 December. Kyogo then suffered the same injury just a week later in a league match away to St Johnstone as Celtic’s injury list continued to grow.
Having these players return to full fitness will be a great boost as Celtic continue to fight on three front with the league, the Scottish Cup and the Europa Conference League all up for grabs.
Our manager also mentioned one of the Celtic signings who crept under the radar during the January transfer window, Johnny Kenny. We haven’t heard much about the former Sligo Rovers player since he signed but the player himself revealed a while back that he’s not had the best of luck since moving to Glasgow in the new year. Postecoglou explained:
“And young Johnny Kenny is getting to a space where he can train with us. And it’s going to be important, we’re still in three competitions. We want to do well in all three and we’re going to need a strong squad to get there.”
Speaking about his misfortune since moving to Glasgow from his native Sligo, Kenny explained on The Sligo Way Podcast as reported by Daily Record that he’s been hampered both by injury and a spell in Covid Isolation.
“I had a rough patch because I’m injured now for a few weeks and I’m just out of self-isolation. I’m on the hunt for an apartment now. I love it over here but I need to get an apartment now to settle down. My driver that brings me to training had Covid so I had to isolate for 10 days.”
He added on new manager Ange Postecoglou and the feeling around Celtic Park :
“It’s very good to be fair. He’s come in and he’s done a real job there, up the top and they won the trophy about a month ago. He’s good, he’s very good. On the pitch, I haven’t been with him yet if I’m being honest, but off the pitch he helps me.
“He’s told me that if I stick at it then I’ll get my rewards and he’s been great in bringing me to the club. I think everyone’s behind him.”
It’s good to hear that Ange Postecoglou is now able to get back to the original plan he had for the player and get him in training around the first team. This will only help to improve the youngster who is highly regarded in Ireland, especially with it being well known that Celtic train the way they play, which I’m sure will be a bit of a shock for someone coming from the League of Ireland. Hopefully the young man’s early misfortunes are behind him and he can enjoy improving his game training with players currently performing at the top of their game.
Conall McGinty
