It is safe to say that the Reo Hatate experiment at right-back proved to be an absolute masterclass for Celtic. The Japanese midfielder had to fill in at full-back in the absence of both Josip Juranovic and Anthony Ralston. He ended up scoring a brace on the day though, as the Hoops handed St Johnstone a 4-1 defeat.
Juranovic had a deep run at the World Cup with the Croatian national team and should return soon, but he is not expected to be available for the next game vs Hibernian.
On the other hand, it looks like Ralston’s fitness is being adjudged on a day-to-day basis at this point of time. Thus, the possibility of Hatate having to play at full-back once again cannot be ruled out at all.
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Ange Postecoglou told BBC Radio Scotland about the situation:
"“We’ll see how Tony is. Tony is going with his recovery. He’s got four days. We’ll get Josip in post-Christmas as well at some stage – he probably won’t be ready for Hibs. We’ll decide closer to it.”"
Celtic boss has provided an injury update on Ralston
Ralston was playing some decent football after the World Cup break before he suffered an injury in the game against Livingston and was forced off the pitch early on in the second half.
The injury is not believed to be a major one and Ralston should be back in action soon. But with games coming thick and fast, even minor issues can lead to a player missing several matches. It remains to be seen when the Scottish right-back is fit enough to feature again.
Juranovic should be back in the mix soon as well although, it must be pointed out that he has been heavily linked with a Parkhead exit in the January transfer window, and especially after his stunning performances at the World Cup for Croatia.
Hatate’s performance against St Johnstone does give Celtic some breathing space though, even when they find themselves in a very difficult position when it comes to right-backs.