Ange Postecoglou says he’s ready to take the shackles off Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi against Rangers at Hampden today.
The Japanese ace returned to the Hoops side as a sub against St Johnstone last week after a three-month injury lay-off.
Postecoglou has been patient with his star man but after a fortnight of intense training, the Parkhead boss is ready to unleash him again.
He’s refused to confirm whether Kyogo will start against their Old Firm rivals in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
But Postecoglou revealed he’s now got no fears about throwing the 27-year-old back into action.
Ahead of today’s Hampden showdown, the Celtic gaffer said: “The conservative approach with Kyogo is gone now.
“I was initially concerned about how we integrated him back into the team.
“With him being out for so long and the team doing well, we didn’t need to rush him back.
“But he’s trained fully for the last two weeks and he trains really hard. So he’s ready to play now.
“Can he last 90 or 120 minutes on Sunday? No, because he’s not had much football.
“But he’s ready to play and I’m no longer worried about being conservative with him in any sense.
“He’s trained and he’s now available for selection. I’ll make that decision on game day.”
With the Premier Sports Cup already in the trophy cabinet and Celtic sitting pretty at the top of the Premiership – a domestic Treble is on the horizon for Postecoglou in his debut season as boss.
If the Aussie pulls it off, he’ll place himself among club greats like Jock Stein, Martin O’Neill and Brendan Rodgers who achieved the feat.
But he’s refusing to take anything for granted before he secures the silverware.
He said: “People mention the Treble but all we have so far is a ‘single’.
“Our role while we are custodians of this club is to bring as much success as possible to it.
“Then, along with all those great managers you mentioned, history will show what those achievements are.
