The Maeda Injury Blow Is A Shocker. Celtic Is Going To Miss Him Very Badly Indeed.

Oh man. Just what we didn’t need, an injury to Daezin Maeda and one that is going to keep him out for up to six weeks.

Did I inadvertently cause that? Have I jinxed the guy? Or is this another example of the New Contract Curse that keeps striking our club?

Either way, this is a disaster and I don’t use that word lightly.

We will miss him and there is no doubt about that at all. Maeda is crucial to how we play, and I was very much looking forward to seeing him open up Aberdeen this weekend before we headed out on the international break. To call this a blow is a savage understatement. We have a big problem now.

The Abada injury was shattering, because it so fundamentally changed how we play. Had he been fit I think you’d have seen Palma play behind the striker for a few games with Maeda on the other flank.

But if Abada’s injury has wrought changes to the plan, that’s nothing compared to what the loss of Maeda for this length of time does to us.

There is no nice way to put this, no spoonful of sugar to make this medicine go down. This is a nightmare. As usual the press thinks it’s only a blow relating to one game; what clowns these people are.

This is a bad one for us in every way, for every game to come, not just one and he has a chance of making that one anyway.

Everything about our style and system will change because of this.

We are looking at Yang getting an extended run but Forrest and Mikey Johnston will get their shot as well and before the complaints start, there’s no choice like having no damned choice. We aren’t short out wide.

Two of our best are out. We now need to fall back on the backups.

That’s what the backups are there for. Every team in the league would kill for backups as good as those two, full internationals with bags of talent.

But we’re in bother here and there’s no point in denying it. Maeda lays on goals, he scores goals and that’s not even the half of what he does.

We will miss this guy in so many, many ways.

Brendan is good. Now we’re going to need to see his Plan B.