Lawal Israel
According to Chris Sutton, Ange Postecoglou’s decision to start Kyogo Furuhashi against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final could be an “unnecessary risk” for the Celtic manager.
Furuhashi made his first appearance since December as the Hoops hammered St Johnstone 7-0 last week in the Premiership.
On Boxing Day, the Japan international suffered an injury at St Johnstone, where he was playing in his 26th game of the season.
With 16 goals and five assists in all competitions, he was a key player for Celtic at that point. To date, no Celtic player has scored more goals than he has.
Before Celtic’s game against St. Johnstone, Postecoglou said he had no concerns about Furuhashi’s fitness.
Furuhashi was left out of his matchday plans for Celtic’s 2-1 win over Rangers at Ibrox in the Old Firm derby.
Celtic and Rangers face each other in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and it is now possible that Postecoglou may start Furuhashi.
Sutton, on the other hand, believes that Daizen Maeda’s impressive start to the season means that he may not be called upon from the start at Hampden Park on Sunday.
“It depends on what Postecoglou has seen from Kyogo in training,” Sutton said. “He might be flying and can go straight back in, but it looks an unnecessary risk.
“Daizen Maeda has been in good form and his pace and constant pressing can cause problems for the Rangers defence.
“Kyogo looked fairly sharp when he came on against St Johnstone but it’s tough to hit the ground running in such a huge game after nearly four months out.”
