Celtic squad update ahead of Premiership restart as Kyogo Furuhashi rated doubtful for Hibs match

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is a major injury doubt ahead of the Scottish Premiership restart on Monday evening.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are set to take on Hibernian at Parkhead in a rematch of last month’s Premier Sports Cup final, but they look likely to be without their star man.

The Japanese sensation reportedly sat out of a bounce game with St Mirren on Wednesday and didn’t train with the rest of his team-mates at the Hoops training base yesterday.

Furuhashi suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem against St Johnstone on Boxing Day and now faces a race against time to be fit for Monday’s clash.

The match will mark the return of fans to football stadiums in Scotland after the Scottish Government’s decision to relax the 500-spectator limit on large-scale outdoor events.

With Kyogo continuing his rehab, Parkhead boss Postecoglou is able to call-up his latest January signing with Daizen Maeda expected to make his debut after joining from Yokohama F. Marinos at the start of the January transfer window.

It is believed Furuhashi, who has scored 16 goals in 26 appearances so far this season, will recover in time to go on international duty with Japan at the end of the month.

The midweek bounce match against the Buddies will have benefitted defender Christopher Jullien after the Frenchman returned to action for the first time since December 2020.

The centre-back has spent over a year on the sidelines after suffering a horrific cruciate ligament rupture against Dundee United, but his injury nightmare looks to be over.

Jullien, who returned to training last week, played 45 minutes of the 1-0 win at Lennoxtown, with youngster Owen Moffat netting the winner.

New recruits Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate also featured, while James Forrest made his return in the second half.

Jullien won’t be involved against Hibs on Monday night but his return provides a major boost to Postecoglou ahead of the second half of the season.

Speaking last week the Australian said: “Chris has worked awfully hard.

“It’s always difficult with the long-term ones because there’s no real, pre-determined, end date but he’s training well and, over the next couple of weeks, we’ll get him involved in terms of playing some football and seeing where he’s at.

“Hopefully he hits the ground running and can help us on our cause.”

Attacking players Felipe Jota and Giorgos Giakoumakis are also back in full training after their recent injury setbacks.

The Portuguese winger briefly returned to parent club Benfica for extra treatment on his hamstring issue, which hampered his involvement in the club’s Hampden triumph.

The 22-year-old has been a revelation for the Hoops this season after joining on loan in the summer, providing eight goals and seven assists.

His impressive form has led Parkhead officials to start negotiations over a permanent £6.5million deal.

Jota had been spotted in Lisbon last week as he was assessed at Benfica’s training complex but he is now back in Glasgow and closing in on a return to competitive action in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Celtic youngster Adam Montgomery could be sent out on loan from the remainder of the campaign.

Postecoglou has high hopes for the 19-year-old defender, who was pitched into his first-team squad at the start of the season.

Montgomery signed a new long-term contract until 2025 last year, and made his European debut against Danish outfit FC Midtjylland in a Champions League qualifier in July.

Despite making 18 appearances to date, Postecoglou believes the next step in Mongtomery’s development is to get a regular run of first-team games under his belt before returning to push for a starting place at Parkhead next season.