Celtic won’t be pleased to hear the latest news on Daizen Maeda’s fitness.
Maeda missed Japan’s draw against Paraguay due to injury but was expected to be available to return against Brazil.
The forward was one of several Celtic stars away on international duty, but now the Hoops have been dealt a major blow.
Daizen Maeda withdraws from Japan squad due to injury
A statement from the Japanese Football Association (JFA) has confirmed that Maeda has withdrawn from the squad due to injury.
Since missing the Paraguay game, Maeda has been training on his own in a bid to get fit in time, but the 27-year-old has been unable to reach the required levels.
Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
Confirmation of the JFA’s decision was reported by Gekisaka, and he will now return to Glasgow in order to recover ahead of the return to domestic football.
Will Daizen Maeda miss any games for Celtic?
Thankfully for the Hoops and the attacker, there is still a week to go until Celtic are back in action.
A trip to Dens Park to face Dundee awaits on Sunday 19 October, giving the 27-year-old a good week to recover.
67 Hail Hail revealed earlier this week that Maeda would still like to move to the Premier League, so any time out could dent those dreams.
As well as the return to domestic football, the chance to finally get off the mark in Europe with two Europa League games is just as important.
Additionally, there is the Premier Sports Cup semi-final clash against Rangers.
AloJapan.com