Mixed news for Celtic as Yang Hyun-jun wins Asian Games title
Celtic star Yang Hyun-jun was not able to pass his injury test to feature in the Asian Games final. South Korea beat Japan thanks to Swansea City star Eom Ji-Sung's second-half winner, winning the competition for the fourth straight time.
The win means every South Korea squad member - which is made up of under-23s players plus three wildcards, one of which was Yang and another was the final goalscorer - is now able to skip military service, which is mandatory in the nation.
It's a fine honour for Yang, but he will be disappointed he wasn't able to contribute more. The Celtic star had already spoken about how he feels bad for not being able to play more during the competition due to a hamstring issue.
But his manager said he would not risk the winger unless fully fit, and he stayed true to his word. Yang did not prove himself fully fit, and he remained on the bench for the final, just like the semi-final.
That could be seen both ways by Celtic. On one hand, Yang isn't fully fit, and that's a concern given the sharpness and form he had going into the international break. But on the other hand, it's clearly a positive that Yang wasn't risked, and he now has a full week to continue strengthening the hamstring ahead of returning to club action with the Bhoys.
It will have been a busy time for Yang, even with his injury, given the hectic nature of tournament football, and he now has a long flight, or more likely flights, to get back to Glasgow.
A week should give him time to get back to fitness, although it's not out of the question that he will need another week or so before he is ready to start.
Martin O'Neill will be delighted to get Yang back, given the form he showed before the international break. The Bhoys are also set to be boosted by the return of Jota at the end of this month, so that left side will have some good competition, which is a change from the last few weeks, when Celtic have only had the out of form Sebastian Tounekti as a left-wing option, at least as a natural one.
Jota and Yang could be some tandem on that left side, and it gives Celtic every chance to getting their front line back to a productive level.
