3 minute read
9/2/2022 | 01:40pm
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has dropped a fresh update on the condition of both David Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi.
What’s the latest?
In recent comments cited by Football Scotland, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss suggested that, despite including both the attacking midfielder and centre-forward in his Europa Conference League 25-man squad, the duo are still some way off making a return to first-team action, although the Greek-Australian coach did go on to state that the 22-year-old is a couple of weeks ahead of the Japan international in his recovery.
And, with The Scotsman reporting towards the end of December that the Scotland international would be ruled out for two months, this would appear to suggest that, if Turnbull remains on course in his recovery, the midfielder could be in line to make a return towards the beginning of the next month, while the 27-year-old striker will be out until around the middle of March.
When asked what the stricken duo’s inclusion in Celtic’s Conference League squad meant, Postecoglou said: “Just read into it that if they’re fit and available they’ll be in the squad. Dave is obviously closer because his injury happened before Kyogo so he’s probably two or three weeks ahead of Kyogo.
“I haven’t put timeframes on it because I could end up being wildly out, but Dave is working hard, Kyogo is working hard. I expect to see Dave before Kyogo, but in terms of Europe, they’re both in the squad because, hopefully, they are available at some time for us.”
Who has been the bigger miss for Celtic?
Turnbull
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Kyoto
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Fans want to be gutted
Considering the fact that Celtic have some extremely important fixtures coming up in February, not least the doubleheader against Bodo/Glimt in the qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, the news that both Turnbull and Kyogo appear to still be some way off making returns from their respective hamstring injuries are sure to have left the Parkhead faithfully gutted.
Indeed, over Turnbull’s 18 Premiership appearances so far this season, the £5.85m-rated midfielder has been in astonishing form for the Bhoys, having scored five goals, registered four assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an Average of 3.7 shots and making a whopping 4.1 key passes – the most of any player in the division – per game.
These returns have seen the £14k-per-week attacker average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.87, ranking him as the best player in the top flight of Scottish football.
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Meanwhile, over Kyogo’s 14 league outings, the £4.95m-rated centre-forward has also been in deadly form, having bagged eight goals, provided two assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per fixture – with these metrics seeing the £18k-per-week hitman average a SofaScore match rating of 7.03.
As such, the fact that both Turnbull and Kyogo look set to remain on the sidelines throughout February, as well as potentially a portion of March, is sure to come as a major blow to Postecoglou and his Celtic side, as the duo are undoubtedly two of the 56-year-old’s most talented players at Parkhead.
In other news: Ange must keep faith in Celtic’s £8.2kp/w “absolute nuisance”, he’d bully Aberdeen
