International breaks are always tricky for clubs. Players can end up suffering injuries while away with their national teams and derail their campaigns at the club level. Of course, Celtic have their fair share of fitness issues already and would not want to add to that list. As a result, when concerns arose about a couple of their starters dealing with problems, naturally the supporters were left worried.
Fortunately, there is somewhat of a positive update regarding one of those situations. Daizen Maeda had recently sat out a training session with Japan.
It was reported in the Japanese media that it was possibly due to some issue that he had picked up during this international break, as he had trained the day before that. Celtic fans would have been hoping that whatever the problem was, it was nothing serious. Fortunately, that looks to be the case.
Maeda did not play against Paraguay. But he was on the bench, which at least shows that he was available on the day.
Celtic handed injury boost amid growing concerns
Maeda headed into the international break on a high. The Japanese forward has been receiving end of a lot of criticism for his performances this season but he did crop up with a late winner against Motherwell, when it had looked like Celtic were set to drop points.
The fans are hoping that the goal proves to be the confidence boost that he needed and he can rediscover his best form moving forward. But for that to happen, he will need to stay fit.
As a result, Maeda's presence on the bench comes as a boost. Let's hope that there are no further issues moving forward and he is fully fit by the time he returns to Glasgow from this international break, ready to make an impact.