KYOGO FURUHASHI will be back to play his part in Celtic’s push for the league and Cup double to complete a phenomenal clean sweep.
The Japanese international striker has not kicked a ball this year and has been forced to sit out the last SEVENTEEN games with a troublesome hamstring strain.
Coincidentally, Kyogo is likely to feature in Saturday’s Premiership confrontation with St Johnstone, the same opponents the last time he made a first-team appearance at McDiarmid Park on Boxing Day.
FOLLOW THE LEADER…Kyogo Furuhashi goes through a training session with skipper Callum McGregor setting the pace, also followed by Yosuke Ideguchi, Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Anthony Ralston.
The 27-year-old hitman, with 16 goals to his name after an impressive first half of the season, was overlooked by Ange Postecoglou for the 2-1 victory at Ibrox yesterday.
It was expected Kyogo would at least make the squad that would be stripped for the match, but there was no sign of the team’s talisman in Govan.
Looking ahead to the visit of the Perth outfit and the chances of an outing for the £4.6million arrival from Vissel Kobe in July, Postecoglou admitted: “Yes, he’ll be fine.
“He was desperate to play today, but when I look at our run-in we’ve got some massive games.
“He’s such an important player for us and I thought we could handle it without him.”
HAMPDEN HERO…Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates one of his double in the Premier Sports League Cup Final victory over Hibs in December.
Postecoglou, speaking to BBC Sportsound, added: “To be fair, he tried everything. Everywhere I turned he popped up in front of me to make sure I knew he was ready to go.
“I couldn’t walk around Lennoxtown without seeing him.
“But we’ll keep him on ice. He’s ready to go, he’ll be fine and he’ll be involved next week.”
Kyogo’s return to match fitness will present the Greek-Australian gaffer with a pleasant problem with Giorgos Giakoumakis playing extremely well as attack-leader.
The powerhouse forward has claimed 11 goals during his team-mate’s enforced absence and Postecoglou now has to decide who starts the encounter with the Saints.
Alternatively, he could go with both which is an exciting prospect for the Hoops fans.
CARTER-VICKERS IS CROWN PRINCE
