Former Celtic star out for rest of the season after surgery as injury caps off poor campaign
It’s been an underwhelming start to life in the Championship for the Hoops icon
Kyogo Furuhashi’s disappointing first season at Birmingham City has been cut short prematurely as he’s now been ruled out for the rest of the campaign due to a shoulder injury.
The striker, who had similar issues during his time at Parkhead, required surgery on his shoulder in a decision the club’s medical staff made to try and get him back for pre-season. Blues boss and former Celtic assistant coach, Chris Davies, confirmed on Good Friday that the Japanese star would play no further part.
The injury caps off what has been a nightmare start to life at St Andrew’s for Kyogo, who has scored only once in 26 Championship appearances since signing from Rennes in the summer. His poor form and injury issues could lead to his departure from Birmingham, with MLS clubs reportedly interested. Kyogo has looked a shadow of the player he was at Celtic since leaving Parkhead in January 2025.
Blues boss confirms Kyogo injury status
After Birmingham’s 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, Davies said: “Kyogo is out for the season. He’s had his shoulder operated on, which was an ongoing thing that he kept trying to put off. In the end we decided to get it done and then he’s back for pre-season.”
The former Celtic man has struggled for minutes of late anyway, behind the likes of behind Jay Stansfield, Marvin Ducksch and August Priske in Davies’ selection pecking order. His solitary second tier goal came against bottom-side Sheffield Wednesday in January but he has since been unable to kick on.
As well as attracting MLS interest, Kyogo was also linked with a move back to Celtic Park during the January window, where he made his name. However, the club eventually made the additions of Tomas Cvancara, Joel Mvuka and Junior Adamu on loan instead.
Where has it went wrong for Kyogo?
The 31-year became a popular figure among the Parkhead faithful for his prolific goalscoring record and endless work rate. During his four years at Celtic, he bagged 85 goals in 165 games, helping the Hoops to four Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups.
Despite his impressive output, Kyogo was often omitted from the Japan national team squad during his time at Celtic, which was partly responsible for his move to Rennes last year. However, after making just six appearances in Ligue 1 without scoring, Davies was hoping he could get his former Celtic colleague back among the goals at St Andrew’s.
The striker remains contracted at Birmingham until June 2028 in a side that has high ambitions for the future. The club have the financial backing of former NFL star Tom Brady and are targeting promotion to the Premier League in the next few seasons.
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