It is hard not to feel that Celtic could have avoided the recent injury that Kyogo suffered. With nothing riding on the result against Real Betis, it had looked like the Japanese star was set to get a well-deserved rest after he was named on the bench. It did not take long for that to change though as Albian Ajeti, who had started at striker, was forced off the pitch with an injury in the first-half itself.
Ange Postecoglou decided to bring Kyogo on as his replacement. And it is safe to say that it turned out to be a big mistake.
Kyogo himself would end up picking up a hamstring injury in the second-half and it remains to be seen when he returns to action. It is very possible though that he could end up missing big games like the Scottish League Cup final and maybe even the Glasgow Derby at the turn of the year.
As reported by the Daily Record, Postecoglou admitted that it was frustrating but he does not plan to change his philosophy:
"“Yeah, it’s frustrating. Those are the decisions you make as a manager. You probably have a sleepless night thinking about the different scenarios.“But my whole ethos has always been that you go out there and you go for things. You never hold back.“It has served me well up until now and I’ll continue to do that with the way I want my team to play and the decisions I make.“It’s just my nature to be more aggressive than sometimes people think I need to be. But we will get our rewards because of that.”"
Postecoglou makes admission amid Celtic injury crisis
It is safe to say that Celtic are in trouble right now. The squad did not have a lot of depth in the first place and since the start of December, Kyogo, Jota, James Forrest, Anthony Ralston, Ajeti and Stephen Welsh have all picked up injuries.
Thankfully, Welsh has returned to action since then but some of the others might be out of action for longer.
That is not ideal to say the least and the injuries could not have come at a worse possible time. December is always one of the busiest portions of the footballing calendar. And on top of that, the Hoops have a League Cup final against Hibernian a little over a week away as well as a Glasgow Derby a few weeks away.