Cha Du Ri and Ki Sung Yueng face January absence

Celtic could be without Cha Du Ri and Ki Sung-Yueng for most of January.

The South Korean pair are currently at home in Seoul for next week’s friendly with Japan which is being used as preparation for the Asian Cup which will be held in Quatar from January 7-29.

During that period Celtic will play their first match in the Scottish Cup as well as SPL fixtures with Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts.

The absence of Ki shouldn’t prove too problematic to overcome but Cha has quickly become the first choice right-back at the club even before the injury to Andreas Hinkel.

At the age of 30 Cha has enjoyed two World Cup’s including reaching the semi-final of the 2002 event co-hosted by South Korea and would love to be part of an Asian Cup winning side.

“This is something that I really want to win before I retire,” he recently told fifa.com. “Normally the World Cup is really the only tournament that matters for Korean fans, but I think this one is just as important for us at the moment.

“Everyone back home says that Korean football is the best in Asia, but we haven’t won the Asian Cup for 50 years, so how can we say we’re the best if we haven’t proved it? I think we have a strong team, but to show that we’re the best we need to win this competition.

“Looking back now, I think we can all be very proud of how we played in the World Cup. The team played very well and were very unlucky to go out to Uruguay in the end, so for me I only have positive feelings about the World Cup and what it did for Korean football.

“I think we took another step forward and we also have some excellent young players coming through like Ki (Sung Yueng) here at Celtic, Lee (Chung Yong) at Bolton and some others in the K-League, so the future looks good.”

Cha spent the bulk of his career playing in the Bundesliga where his father Cha Bum Kun was a legendary figure after starring for Eintract Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen.

The opportunity to move to Celtic emerged during the World Cup with the full-back quickly taking to life in Glasgow on and off the pitch.

“I like the fact this city is crazy about football,” he added. “Apart from the rain, I think it’s perfect for me. My wife likes Glasgow too and that helps of course. We’re both very, very happy here.

“Football is football but, if anything, I think the game is a little tougher here – referees let the play flow more and don’t stop for as many fouls.

“I played for eight years in the Bundesliga, which for me is still one of the best leagues in Europe, but I wanted a new challenge and Celtic was perfect. It’s such a big club and I’ve enjoyed every day and every game since I’ve been here.

“Every player wants to be chasing trophies and championships, and now I’m 30 I don’t have too much time left to do that.

“The name of Celtic speaks for itself – I think every football fan knows this club. There are actually many Celtic fans in Germany, so I knew about the club before I joined and now I feel proud every time I pull on the shirt.

“I enjoyed my time in Germany but I wouldn’t go back there, I had thought about trying the MLS in America but I’m enjoying things so much at Celtic that I’m not sure if I will move again.

“If things keep going well, we win trophies and the club is happy with me, it’s possible that I’ll end my career at Celtic.”

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