Celtic suffer fresh Scottish Cup final injury blow - but one key man set to return
Key midfielder to miss final two games of season
Celtic have been dealt a Scottish Cup final injury blow with the news that midfielder Reo Hatate has been ruled out of the final two matches of the season.
The Japan international suffered a knee injury in the closing stages of Celtic’s 5-1 win at Aberdeen on Wednesday and will not recover in time to face St Mirren in the league trophy presentation on Saturday or the Dons at Hampden on May 24.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “He’ll miss the last two games, sadly for him and for us.
“He’s had a fantastic season in terms of availability. It’s 55 games he’s been involved in and it’s just such a shame he’ll miss these last couple of games.
“You’re probably looking that he’ll be okay for the beginning of pre-season, but it’s just a shame for us, even more so for him, that he misses these two games.”
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Hatate was injured in a strong challenge by Pape Habib Gueye as the Celtic midfielder looked to stop the ball in anticipation of a free-kick for the Aberdeen forward’s push on James Forrest.
Rodgers said: “I said at the time I thought it was a needless challenge. Everyone knew it was a free-kick. He’s just there to stop the ball from running away. For that to happen in that circumstance, it’s not nice.”
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