ANGE Postecoglou has expressed confidence the hamstring injury that Giorgos Giakoumakis suffered in the 7-0 win over St Johnstone will not hinder treble-chasing Celtic in the coming weeks.
Postecoglou’s side moved nine points clear of Rangers, who play St Mirren in Paisley this afternoon, at the top of the cinch Premiership table thanks to the emphatic win yesterday.
But Giakoumakis limped off in the first-half shortly after netting the second goal and could now miss the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden a week today.
But his Greek-Australian manager, who was delighted to see Kyogo Furuhashi make his return from a lengthy lay-off in the second-half, is adamant Celtic can cope without the striker.
Asked how long the £2.5m summer signing will be out for, Postecoglou said: “He felt a twinge in his hamstring so we won’t really know until we assess him.
“It’s disappointing. Giakoumakis has carried an enormous load for us these past few weeks and worked really hard. Hopefully it’s not something that keeps him out too long in the run-in.
“Obviously Giakoumakis got the injury today, but James Forrest should be back next week and we have the healthiest squad we have had all year. We have a lot of contributors which mean our training levels are at the best they have been all year.
“We are getting some good weeks into training because there are no midweek games so those things are in our favour in terms of producing our best football.”
Postecoglou, though, is doubtful that Furuhashi, who scored a double in the Premier Sports Cup final in December, will be ready to start against Rangers in the semi-final.
He said: “We will see. Whenever somebody is out for a significant amount of time you do have to be a bit more careful. I wouldn’t think we will be throwing him in next week. I doubt he’ll start next week.
“But if we can get him some more game time in the next couple of weeks you think he would be ready to go the last three or four games.”
Postecoglou added: “I’m pleased for him because he is a great guy and a super footballer. He was so important for us at the beginning of the year when we really needed somebody to step up.
“The whole group has watched him work really hard on his own in rehab so it was great to get him back out there. He looked like the quality player he is and he is going to be super important for us.”
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