Ange Postecoglou has admitted he will give star man Kyogo Furuhashi every chance of facing Real Madrid at Parkhead tonight.
The Celtic attacker was forced off very early on in the Old Firm thrashing of Rangers on Saturday afternoon with a shoulder injury. There was a further scare later on as the Japan international slipped over while celebrating with the Hoops faithful at the end of the game following the 4-0 win.
However, Kyogo was pictured in training yesterday ahead of the Champions League blockbuster in Glasgow's east end as the Scottish champions look to continue their stunning domestic form on Europe's biggest stage. Postecolgou admits he is calm about the situation and says the fans' favourite is desperate to face the current holders under the lights later this evening.
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The Hoops boss said: “I am relaxed. I want my best players available and he is desperate to play.
“Kyogo’s had such a great start to the season, and the way he plays he’ll cause anyone problems.
“He got a bit frustrated last year because he had the injuries.
“We will give him every chance but as we showed at the weekend, and we have shown so far, we have alternatives in the team if Kyogo is not able to play.
“We’ve been really big on building a strong squad for this reason.
“Now we’ve just started a cycle of playing every three or four days, and we are going to need everybody in the squad.
“If Kyogo doesn’t come up we have alternatives, and we will still have a team out there that can be competitive.”
Postecoglou added that his team simply cannot fail against Real Madrid tonight.
He continued: “For a lot of the players in there, apart from maybe Callum McGregor, James Forrest or Joe Hart, this will be their first time. But I’ll send them out with the understanding that if they show no fear and just be themselves, then they can’t fail on the night.
“If you go out there and give the best of yourself, there is no failure.”
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