Martin O'Neill has offered an injury update on Daizen Maeda after the Celtic star was spotted leaving the pitch with his boot off. It seemed as though he had something wrong with his ankle, which understandably concerned fans ahead of next weekend's Glasgow derby.
The forward was good against Hibernian and even netted the opening goal, which proved to be big for the Hoops. He played the entire game, starting up front and then moving out wide when Kelechi Iheanacho came on, and he really threatened while leading the line.
At full-time, he appeared to have bruising around his ankle, and Celtic can't afford to lose him at such a crucial point in the season. We need three wins from three games to have a chance at retaining the Scottish Premiership title, and losing such a key player would be a massive blow.
Maeda has scored in Celtic's last three matches and is finding his form at an important time.
Opponent | Competition | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
St Mirren | Scottish Cup | 1 | 1 |
Falkirk | Premiership | 2 | 1 |
Hibs | Premiership | 1 | 0 |
O'Neill spoke to Sky Sports after the match and gave an update on the situation. He said: "I'm hoping he's alright. I think that when we were discussing things in the dressing room, that didn't rear its head at this minute.
"I'm hoping he's going to be okay. I desperately hope he's going to be okay because we need him. Big three games now."
The update doesn't give fans much to go off, and we'll have to await confirmation at a later date. It seems that O'Neill didn't pick up any serious signs of injury in the dressing room, which gives us some hope that it won't be that serious.
A week to recover after an impressive performance
Maeda and the rest of the team now have a week to recover after a good win at Easter Road. Iheanacho has staked his claim to start against Rangers, but whether that will come to anything is yet to be seen. As we know, he has struggled with fitness throughout the campaign, and that seems to still be a problem.
If Maeda is out, that could pave the way for him to lead the line from the off. It seems unlikely that Tomas Cvancara or Junior Adamu would return to the matchday squad at this point. Cvancara is struggling with a groin strain, which has him sidelined, and Adamu hasn't made a squad for the league since the end of March.
We only have one solid option to replace the Japanese international, and that is Iheanacho. O'Neill knows what Maeda brings to the side, and how much his relentless pressing can trouble opponents, especially the Gers, and we can't afford to lose that now.
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