Reo Hatate is not having a good season by any stretch of the imagination. The Japanese midfielder struggled for form in pre-season and early in the campaign, as it looked like he was taking time to adjust to Brendan Rodgers’ system at Celtic Park. Then he picked up an injury which kept him out of action for a few weeks.
Hatate did look better after returning to action from the injury. In recent weeks, he was finally starting to look like his old self as it felt like he was coming to grips with Rodgers’ football.
But then, he picked up an injury early on in the game against Atletico Madrid. He is not expected to be back anytime soon, as he has been ruled out until Christmas at the very least.
If there is somehow a silver lining to this cloud, it is that he looks set to remain at the club beyond January due to the injury. At least, that is what reports suggest.
Hatate news about Celtic exit amid injury nightmare
As reported by Football Insider, Hatate’s hamstring injury has ended any possibility of a January exit from Celtic.
Hatate has been linked with a long list of clubs in recent times. In fact, one of the reasons he struggled for his best form early on in the season is believed to be all the speculation over his future in the summer as multiple Premier League clubs were rumoured to be after his signature.
An exit did not materialise though and it looks like Hatate will spend this campaign at Parkhead at the very least. At the moment, all one can hope is that the midfielder recovers fully and returns to fitness. The Japanese international is a key part of this Celtic team and one of the best in all of Scotland when on top of his game, as he was last season.