Brendan Rodgers has explained his emotional post-match embrace with Reo Hatate after Celtic’s 3-0 win away to St Mirren.
With 71 minutes on the clock and Celtic leading 3-0 the midfielder replaced Paolo Bernardo to bring an end to two painful months out of action with a hamstring injury.
Hatate only lasted seven minutes of the Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid at the end of October, realising that he had suffered a bad hamstring injury he looked distressed as he walked off the pitch knowing that he was in line for a lengthy absence.
The return of Hatate and Liel Abada adds greatly to Rodgers’ options in the second half of the season even though the midfielder is about to join up with the Japan squad at the Asian Cup.
After the final whistle the Celtic players and manager thanked the away support, as they made their way off the pitch Rodgers had some special words for Hatate that were shielded from Sky Sports viewers.
Explaining the post-match scenes the Celtic boss told the Daily Record:
You could see afterwards Reo was actually quite emotional to be back out on the pitch again. He’s put in so much hard work and he’s a big, big player for us. So hopefully he can go away and get some minutes and keep his fitness up because when he comes back he’s going to be huge for us in the second half of the season.
So it’s great for him to be back and Liel as well because he brings a different dimension to the team – he’s a goal scorer but he plays wide, so he’s always running into score. Having those two players will help us play the kind of football we want to see.
After suffering two hamstring injuries and a calf problem during 2023 Rodgers and Hatate will be hoping for an injury free run to contribute for club and country.
Game recognises game ?Hey, oh Reo Hatate
The Celtic get excited when we see you play.
It’s strange that the feeling grows more and more
But we’ve had a player like you before… ? pic.twitter.com/w2D0YTxBVw— Ewan (@ewancorky) January 2, 2024
Reo – Grande to see ya back buddy !