Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has provided an injury update on midfielder Reo Hatate.
The 26-year-old started for his country in the Asian Cup round of 16 match against Bahrain but was forced off in the first half.
The Celtic ace was replaced by Hidemasa Morita after just 36 minutes as he hobbled off the park.
Hatate appeared to be clutching his calf after the knock but left the field without need for medical assistance.
Updating on the knock, Moriyasu said: "I want to hear the diagnosis from the doctor.
"However, it hurts both the players and the team when someone gets injured, but no matter who gets injured, we need to maintain the flow of the game and win. I think today's match gave me more confidence."
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers retains hope the club can sign a player that can make a difference to his team as the transfer deadline approaches.
The cinch Premiership leaders’ sole January signing, Nicolas Kuhn, made his debut off the bench during a 1-0 win over Ross County on Saturday.
Rodgers has been looking for quality rather than quantity after the club went largely for young and inexperienced additions in the summer, most of whom have struggled to break into the first team.
Rodgers said: “There are numbers of areas we’re looking at. I can only concentrate on the players I have here now. But certainly there are areas we are looking to improve on.
“Hopefully there’s movement, that’s the plan. Getting that player in who can help our level and allow us to develop. We will see over the coming days, but hopefully that’s the case.”
Rodgers was responding to a question about the left-back position after Greg Taylor was ruled out for several weeks with a calf problem.
Alexandro Bernabei made his first start under Rodgers and played a key role in Alistair Johnston’s first-minute goal as he got into the final third and delivered a dangerous low cross.
Rodgers said: “He gave everything he had. With Greg being the regular full-back it’s been difficult for him to have possibilities. But he gave everything.
“A few misplaced passes, but he got through the 90 minutes and hopefully that gives him confidence and he can better from that.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel