Celtic pair Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi have both been left on the sidelines for Japan's friendly with USA, with teammate Daizen Maeda also given a breather.
Midfielder Hatate wasn't included in the squad entirely as mystery surrounds whether he was excluded or whether any niggling injury issues have cropped up. Kyogo was an unused substitute as the Land of the Rising Sun ran out 2-0 winners over USA ahead of their World Cup 2022 adventure this winter.
Rangers' Malik Tillman also appeared off the bench in the friendly encounter. Maeda was the only Hoops player to play as he featured for 45 minutes despite having not scored for Ange Postecoglou's team in the league since making his move from Yokohama F. Marinos permanent this summer. It's something he is keen to alter, telling the Daily Record: "I haven't scored a goal yet for Celtic in the league this season.
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"But hopefully I can change that soon. I am very much looking forward to the World Cup. We are playing some very high-ranked countries.
"I think my speed will come in handy there because we will break on the counter-attack against them. It will be a great tournament and we are all looking forward to it."
Japan will face Ecuador next week before a World Cup group with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain beckons in November. There's no fewer than 13 games before the big tournament for Celtic though amid a hectic run of fixtures.
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