Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers looks to have been given a major shot in the arm after it emerged that one of his injured stars has made an encouraging step toward returning to contention.
Celtic prevail in Perth…
Last Sunday, Celtic had to dig deep against Craig Levein's stubborn St Johnstone side at McDiarmid Park, with second-half goals from Callum McGregor, Matt O'Riley and James Forrest ensuring the Hoops took maximum points from a difficult away encounter in an eventual 3-1 victory.
Nevertheless, things could've been very different in Perth. Undoubtedly, the Scottish Premiership champions failed to show their class for much of the proceedings before McGregor's 67th-minute equaliser. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Rodgers stated that he'd "never been angrier" than at half-time in his career as a manager when evaluating his side's first-half display, as cited by BBC Sport.
Joe Hart also played a major role in securing a hard-fought victory for his side, pulling off a heroic stoppage time save before Scotland international Forrest went up the other end to put the game beyond doubt in the same move, as can be seen below.
Nevertheless, the Glasgow giants remain at the top of the Scottish Premiership pile with 39 points in their opening 15 matches and have yet to taste defeat in the league this season.
In light of injury absences over the last few weeks, Rodgers has had to rotate his squad to a varying degree of success; however, recent developments suggest that one key man now may not be too far away from returning to first-team contention.
Daizen Maeda nearing Celtic return
As cited by The Daily Record, Celtic winger Daizen Maeda has returned to training and could return to first-team contention during the festive period after being ruled out with a knee injury last month.
Daizen Maeda statistics in 2023/24 – all competitions (Transfermarkt)
Appearances
17
Goals
2
Assists
3
The report also states that Israeli attacker Liel Abada is also back on the grass and may also be hoisted back into the fold between now and the winter break, which is set to begin on January 3rd following the Hoops' trip to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership a day earlier.
Labelled "incredible" by Hoops manager Rodgers earlier this year, Maeda is a crucial part of the furniture at Parkhead and offers a unique blend of offensive dynamism alongside defensive capability. In the Scottish Premiership this term, the Japan international has averaged around two shots and 1.6 completed dribbles per match (Maeda statistics – WhoScored).
At the same time, the outlet show that the former Yokohama F. Marinos man has won 1.4 successful challenges per fixture in the Scottish top-flight, demonstrating his ability to pressurise the opposition consistently, forcing them to turn over the ball.
Bringing energy and hunger to the Celtic attack, Maeda has been a big miss for Rodgers and news of his potential return, alongside Abada's progress, will come as a welcome boost to everyone connected with the club.
