Celtic star out of Old Firm derby against Rangers with international duty
Rangers have been handed a boost ahead of next month’s Old Firm derby against Celtic as Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi will be on international duty, according to the Glasgow Times.
The 26-year-old has scored eight times in the Scottish Premiership so far but will be playing for Japan against China the day before Celtic take on Rangers, ruling him out on contention.
Furuhashi’s absence helps Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side who have one less threat to worry about in what could be a title-defining game for the Gers.
Advantage Rangers
If it wasn’t already, it certainly is now. van Bronckhorst would have backed his team against a full-strength Celtic side any day of the week but the lack of their star striker increases confidence even more.
Things are made even better for Gers fans with Celtic’s triple signings Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate also away with Japan.
Add that to the absence of creative midfielder Tom Rogic and all of a sudden Celtic’s side looks a lot weaker.
Five absent players swing the pendulum firmly in the blue corner of the city but complacency can’t be accepted if victory is to be secured.
Derby day bragging rights are forever crucial in the city of Glasgow and it was Rangers who took them in August thanks to a Filip Helander header.
Since then, Celtic have lost talismanic striker Odsonne Edouard to Crystal Palace but Rangers have also lost personnel in the time between meetings.
Steven Gerrard was still at the helm when the two sides met previously and this will be van Bronckhorst’s first derby day in the dugout.
If he wasn’t already loved by Rangers fans, victory on 2 February would secure hero status.
In other Rangers news, Craig Moore believes this Rangers-linked defender could be worth £20million in the future.