Ben Dinnery

Thu 3 February 2022 17:00, UK

It is understandable that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou does not want to go into great detail about Kyogo Furhashi’s injury.

That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.

Kyogo, 27, returned from a hamstring setback in late December only to suffer a recurrence in the 3-1 Boxing Day win over St Johnstone.

It is unclear exactly when the Japanese striker, a summer signing from Vissel Kobe, will return.

As quoted by footballscotland last Saturday, Postecoglou said: “I’m not going to talk about people’s medical procedures, that’s people’s private business.”

And he insisted “I don’t want to be asked every week about it,” when quizzed on Kyogo’s condition by the Daily Record on Tuesday (1 February).

Dinnery analysed Postecoglou’s cryptic approach to his star striker’s injury woes.

“From one point of view, it’s frustrating,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.

“You want to understand and be able to give guidance on these injuries.

“But on the flip side, I can understand why players don’t want their ailments and injuries aired out in public.

“It’s difficult. It’s that fine line between servicing a need, giving the public what they want and staying connected without giving away the crown jewels.

“We are seeing this more regularly, with managers dealing with questions with a straight bat and saying they aren’t going to give that info.

“Unless there’s a change in disclosure law like in North American sports, I can see this becoming more commonplace.

“Players may want to take back some of this power. If everything is in the public domain, it can have an impact on transfers and contract negotiations.”

Kyogo is Celtic’s top scorer this term with 16 goals in 26 appearances.

He was not part of the side that beat Rangers 3-0 to go top of the Scottish Premiership table last night (2 February).

In other news, Frank McAvennie struck by “big thing” Reo Hatate kept doing against Rangers.