Kyogo Furuhashi is set to finally be recalled by Japan for their summer games, according to former international star Masakiyo Maezono.
Furuhashi was a shock snub for the World Cup last year and has since admitted it was a devastating blow for him to be ignored by manager Hajime Moriyasu.
Moriyasu then doubled down on his controversial decision by not including him in his squad for their two friendlies in March against Uruguay and Colombia after he expressed doubt about the standard of the Scottish Premiership, where Furuhashi is top scorer.
However, former Santos and Japan striker Maezono, who is now a respected pundit in his homeland, reckons Furuhashi is a certainty to be back in the squad for Japan's two Kirin Cup games in June against El Salvador and Peru.
He said: "I think Kyogo Furuhashi will be back in the squad for sure and deservedly so.
"I think in the past when Hajime Moriyasu did call up Furuhashi, it didn't really work. He wasn't able to find a suitable position for him.
"But he is now trying out new tactics and he will want to look at him in a new position. He is trying to play two players up front and that will suit him.
"Until last year, the system was 4-2-3-1. By switching to two up front, I have high hopes for Furuhashi.
"Expectations are very high for him and I am certain he will return to the national team for the games against El Salvador and Peru in June.
"He is definitely worth another chance."
Furuhashi's last of his 16 caps came against Ecuador in a friendly in September, but his disappointing performance contributed to his omission from the Qatar tournament.
Meanwhile, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has challenged his players to immediately improve on their below-par display against Motherwell and get back to their best against Rangers.
The Premiership leaders dropped points at home for the first time this season after in-form Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen cancelled out Callum McGregor’s early opener.
Celtic can still set a record points total if they win all five remaining matches but their main concern is making sure they find their form when they take on Rangers at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-finals next Sunday.
Postecoglou said: “Look, every game is an opportunity for us to improve. We will do what we normally do, we will review the game.
“I’m sure the lads are disappointed but we have just got to lick our wounds and get on with it.
“That’s the game of football, you can’t just expect everything to run smoothly.
“It’s a little bit of a challenge for us now to get over this disappointment and focus on a big game next week.”
