Medical expert issues Kyogo Furuhashi prediction after Celtic news – ‘we won’t see it this season’
Kyogo Furuhashi’s comeback from injury may be imminent – but Celtic should not expect him to return to peak performance until 2022-23.
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, is out with a hamstring injury and has seen just 15 minutes of action since the beginning of December last year.
But as quoted by the Glasgow Times on Monday (21 March), the Japanese striker revealed: “I am in very good condition and feel I will be back soon.”
Hoops icon Frank McAvennie told this site last Friday (18 March) that Kyogo will return for April’s games against Rangers, as per “people who know.”
But Dinnery warned Celtic fans to temper their expectations for when their star man does return.
“It will depend on how much he is playing and the environment at the time,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“He has spent over three months on the sidelines. It will take a while before he gets to pre-injury levels in terms of sharpness and match fitness.
“It may be that we don’t see Kyogo hitting those pre-injury levels this season.
“It might just be an opportunity to get some minutes in his legs and test that hamstring.
“But ultimately, we won’t see a fully fit Kyogo back in that Celtic team until pre-season.”
Kyogo netted 16 goals and supplied five assists in 26 appearances before his injury.
Celtic face Rangers in their first match back after the international break next Sunday (3 April).
In other news, Celtic tipped to win all three April Old Firm games after “absolutely massive” Rangers “blow”.