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Brendan Rodgers explains why he has been reluctant to start Tomoki Iwata recently for Celtic
The Tomoki Iwata situation is one that has mystified the Celtic supporters over the course of this season.
The injury to Reo Hatate against Atletico Madrid left Brendan Rodgers with a gaping hole in the centre of his midfield.
The Celtic manager has tried and tested the likes of David Turnbull, Paulo Bernardo and Odin Thiago Holm but none have been impressed enough to keep their place in the team.
Well, last night it was the turn of Tomoki Iwata and after weeks of waiting on the sidelines the Japanese midfielder got his opportunity.
But why did it take Rodgers so long to throw the 26-year-old in there? After the 4-1 win over Hibs, the Celtic manager explains.
Tomoki Iwata was injured for Celtic
The Celtic manager was delivering his verdict on Iwata’s performance when he revealed that the Japan international was actually injured for a while.
Rodgers said [], “Tomo was solid in midfield. We just wanted him to come in there and get that feeling of playing. I would have played him before but he’d been injured the few times we were going to play him.
“So I thought he was steady.”
Steady? Iwata was excellent according to football stats site, . Rated a 7.3, Iwata had a brilliant passing accuracy of 97%. Not bad for a player who lacks match sharpness.
Completing the whole 90 minutes, the 26-year-old had two shots on target, made nine ball recoveries and won 100% of his aerial duels.
Iwata was solid for Celtic last night and hopefully, the supporters will see more of the same on Sunday lunchtime against Kilmarnock.
In other news,