KYOGO KO

HAMSTRING victim Kyogo Furuhashi is almost certainly OUT of the second Glasgow derby of the season when Giovanni van Bronkchorst takes his Ibrox side to Parkhead on February 2.

The Celtic talisman, who has claimed 16 goals since his £4.6million arrival from Vissel Kobe in late July, will also miss Japan’s World Cup qualifiers against China on January 27 and Saudi Arabia four days later.

International manager Hajime Moriyasu revealed the Hoops hitman will be overlooked for the crucial ties because of the threat of injury.

ON THE RUN…Kyogo Furuhashi in action.

The squad for the games will be announced on Saturday and the worry for the Parkhead club was Kyogo being included which would have ruled out participation against the Govan side.

However, it now appears there is no chance of the 27-year-old attacker being fit after limping off with a recurrence of the hamstring problem early in the 3-1 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Boxing Day.

He will sit out the clash against Shaun Maloney’s Hibs in the east end of Glasgow when the Premiership restarts this evening. Kyogo has scored in the previous two encounters against the Edinburgh outfit in this campaign, a strike in the 3-1 win at Easter Road in the league in October and a double salvo in the Premier Sports League Cup Final triumph last month.

ON THE SLIDE…Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates one of his double in the Premier Sports League Cup Final win over Hibs at Hampden last month.

Japanese gaffer Moriyasu, speaking in a report in the Scottish Sun, said: “It’s a pain for the team, but it’s the most painful for him.

“He has had to overcome unexpected things to achieve his goal.

“But we will call in new players.”

Kyogo, who missed five games after sustaining a knee injury on international duty earlier in the season, is likely to be sidelined for the Scottish Cup opener at Alloa on Saturday night and the league outings against Dundee United and Hearts as well as struggling to be fit in time for the visit of the Ibrox club a fortnight on Wednesday.

* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Hibs this evening – only in your champion CQN.