After witnessing the embrace at St Mirren, fans were concerned.
Brendan Rodgers has spoken out about his “emotional” embrace with Reo Hatate following Celtic’s victory against St Mirren.
After missing two months due to a hamstring injury, the Japanese midfielder returned to the field for the first time since a win against Hearts in October. He played the final 19 minutes in Paisley as the Hoops won 3-0 thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda, Matt O’Riley, and Greg Taylor.
The 26-year-old was seen on the pitch after full-time in an embrace with the boss, raising fears that it was a farewell gesture with the January transfer season in full swing. Hatate, on the other hand, was merely emotional after weeks of hard work to get back into action, according to Rodgers.
The Hoops boss said: “You could see afterwards Reo was actually quite emotional to be back out on the pitch again.
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“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.”
Celtic lead their rivals by eight points going into the break, despite playing two more games.
When asked if the break came at a terrible moment, Rodgers replied, “Probably not.” I have had the flu and a cold for nearly a month since life has been so hectic. I think it is a good time for the players to rest now because the physical demands are so high, especially for how we want them to play and how intense we want them to be.
“So that will be nice for them to recover and then we will get back and we have loads of time to do a lot of work and be ready for our first cup game.”
