Brendan Rodgers finally clears up Celtic injury mystery

Celtic have had their fair share of injury problems already this season. The Scottish champions stumbled out of the gates as a result, in Brendan Rodgers’ second stint as manager of the club, with fitness issues, the change in the managerial hot seat and the arrival of several new players over the summer creating a less than ideal situation.

Things have improved as the season has progressed though. It does look like the squad is coming to grips with Rodgers’ ideas and style of football right now, and the results have improved domestically.

On the other hand, quite a few have now come back or are closing in on their returns from injury. As a result, things are certainly looking up for the Hoops.

Amidst all this, there was some confusion around the situation of Daizen Maeda. The Japanese forward had played 89 minutes against Kilmarnock in the last game and there were no reports of an injury in the aftermath. But then, he ended up pulling out of international duty.

Rodgers finally clears up Celtic injury mystery around Maeda

Unsurprisingly, there was some confusion around the matter and fans were left worried as well. Maeda is one of the most important players in this team after all.

But Rodgers has clarified the situation now and there does not seem to be much to be worried about. As reported by The National, the Celtic manager said:

"“Daizen is okay. He had a slight knock after the Kilmarnock game and, with it being friendlies, the communication between their medical team and ours meant he didn’t have to travel.“He had some treatment for a few days but he has been training now over a week so he is absolutely fine.”"

So, it looks like it was a minor issue for Maeda and it has been taken care of already. So, we can expect to see him back on the pitch after the international break.

Celtic’s next game is against Hearts away at Tynecastle Park. That is always a difficult test for any team in Scotland and they have been decent this season as well, currently sitting at fourth in the table.