Daizen Maeda: Celtic Winger Expected to Return Before the End of the Season

Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers is confident Daizen Maeda will be back in action before the end of the season.

It was feared the Japanese winger would miss the Hoops title fight and Scottish Cup final after suffering a hamstring injury in recent weeks.

He missed the league win over St Mirren and the dramatic penalty shootout win over Aberdeen in the semi-final last weekend.

But ahead of Sunday’s game in Dundee, Rodgers revealed live on Sky that his recovery was quicker than expected.

“At first we thought maybe his season was over but he was on the pitch,” he told Sky Sports News.

“He won’t be ready this weekend, but we have a feeling we will see him at some point before the end of the season, which is great news for us.”

“He will complete his rehabilitation on the pitch with the medical team early next week and then we will assess it from there.”

“It would be a huge boost for us because he hasn’t missed out on that much so he won’t have lost much in terms of fitness even though he’s a machine physically.”

“Someone like him gives us a lot of intensity in the game and that obviously inspires others.”

Celtic are three points clear of Rangers and have five games remaining, including an Old Firm clash on May 11 live on Sky.

The coach is confident his players will rise to the challenge of securing another league title.

“At this stage of the season they always say Celtic are going to win the title,” the manager added.

“It’s about concentration and mentality and bringing a high level of performance into the games.”

“This is something that has been done consistently here over a longer period of time and is something I would expect to see in the remaining games.”

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