HE’S a man they can’t afford to lose, especially not with his countrymen on international duty.
But as much as Kyogo Furuhashi has had Hoops fans’ pulses racing with his on-field displays for the Scottish champions – their hearts were in their mouths at his latest update from Japan.
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The maverick spent the winter break back home while Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate prepared for the Asian Cup with the Blue Samurai national team.
And Kyogo seemed to benefit from his break – spotted all smiles in his social media posts.
He was playing with long-lost pets and catching up with family as the SPFL Premiership switched off for the mid-season stoppage.
Sharing the footage in a TikTok video montage he wrote: “I went back to Japan for a short time and spent time with my family and relatives and was able to refresh myself.
“I also gained power from them, so I will do my best again in 2024. Thank you for your continued support.”
But one update did not go down well with Furuhashi’s followers.
The down side of Kyogo’s time in Scotland has been his recurrent shoulder issues that have plagued his playing time and interrupted each season.
And fans were fearful when they saw their hero not only swing a golf club on his travels – but also launch a baseball pitch in a fairground game and swing a bat as he enjoyed some down-time away from the ball.
Consummate professional though he is he also kicked a ball around in a short training session in the shadow of a huge football stadium.
But it was the sight of him trying other sports that had the fans most worried.
One wrote: “Watching Kyogo swing that baseball bat, throwing pitches, and playing golf all I’m thinking is ‘watch that shoulder of yours wee man’.”
Another added: “Shoulder man….your shoulder!!!!!”
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A third warned: “Go easy on that shoulder wee man!”
Furuhashi was surprisingly left out of Japan’s Asian Cup squad – though Maeda and Hatate were called up by Hajime Moriyasu.
They were not used in the Blue Samurai’s opening win over Vietnam on Sunday.
But Kyogo’s loss is Celtic’s gain and the Hoops fans responded positively to his message – despite wincing at his shoulder swings.
Another added: “Words can’t describe how much I love this man. A genuinely lovely lad. What a quote that is ‘I was able to get power from them, so I’ll do my best in 2024’.”
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