Celtic Boss Confirms Extent of Reo Hatate's Unfortunate Injury

Celtic have had some good injury luck for nearly the entire 2024-2025 campaign, but unfortunately, as the season nears its end, that has not been the case. With Jota out long-term, they are already down a starting winger, and now they have another injury to add to the list after their 5-1 victory over Aberdeen.

Unfortunately, during the match, midfielder Reo Hatate would be tackled near the touchline trying to prevent the ball from going out, and would end up going down with an injury. This challenge was needless, and the injury was preventable, which makes it all that much worse.

The potential timeline for Hatate's return has been discussed, and it seems he will not miss out on any time next season, thankfully.

What Did Brendan Rodgers Have to Say Regarding Reo Hatate's Injury?

Manager Brendan Rodgers had the following to say about Hatate's status for the remainder of the season, as was recorded by Sky Sports Scotland:

"Yeah, he'll miss the last two games, sadly for him and for us. He's had a fantastic season in terms of availability, 55 games he's been involved in. Just such a shame, he'll miss these last couple of games.

"So, yeah you're probably talking that he'll be okay for the beginning of pre-season, but it's just a shame for us, even more so for him, that he misses these two games."

He would continue on after being asked about the challenge made by Pape Habib Gueye that caused the injury, and his feelings on the decision that was made to do so:

"I said at the time I thought it was a needless, needless challenge. Everyone knew it was a free-kick. He's just there to...just stop the ball from running away. For that to happen in that circumstance, it's not nice."

Now Celtic will have to plan for another missing player in their remaining matches, which will make their Scottish Cup Final that much more difficult.

Luckily, the midfield is where they have quite a bit of depth, with Callum McGregor, Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan, and Arne Engels as the main group. With that, they should be able to find a reasonable combination for the big matchday and put together a starting XI that can still take down Aberdeen.

Hopefully Hatate finds a quick recovery timeline and is all ready to go for next season, as he is a crucial part of Celtic's success and has proven to be a valuable player over the course of this season.