Celtic handed fresh Yang Hyun-jun boost amid major schedule change

Celtic have dodged a bullet with Yang Hyun-jun, who faced the potential of jetting off for another month with international duty, and outside of the usual international windows.

.Yang has already missed around a month of action due to being selected as a wildcard overage pick for the Asian Games in Japan. During that tournament, he picked up a hamstring injury, and while he returned to the South Korea squad for the semi-final and final, both of which were won by his nation, he was not cleared to play upon his return by the Celtic medical staff.

Yang has remained out since the last international break, and while he is said to be close to returning, we don't know whether he will be available before the next break, which begins on Monday.

There was a danger of Yang having to leave again due to the Asian Cup taking place in January, but the Saudi Arabia event has been postponed for a full year. It's claimed that tensions in the Middle-East are the central reason for the delay, with safety a key concern.

That's good news for Celtic, who could have been without Yang for weeks more had he been selected by South Korea.

The winger was playing superbly before jetting off to the Asian Games, which have disrupted his season more than expected due to the injury he picked up.

He will now come back to a left-wing position with more competition, given Jota is only a couple of weeks away from full fitness and doing well in the meantime, while Callum Osmand has also done well there.

But getting Yang back will be a huge boost for the Celtic front line, with service having been an issue for the last couple of weeks, albeit Sunday's draw might have gone very differently had Scott Bain not been in superb form between the sticks.