Brugge are set to be without two key players for their crunch Champions League showdown at Celtic next week after a double injury setback.
The Hoops face the Belgian side next week at Parkhead in a strong position to reach the playoffs at least after home wins against Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig and a draw at Atalanta. Their one defeat in the new-look format saw them crushed 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund. Brugge have been struggling domestically although they have won twice in the Champions League this season,
But they will now be without highly-rated Dutch Under 21s left back Bjorn Meijer and Swedish international striker Gustaf Nilsson after injuries picked up on international week. Meijer has a thigh injury and the swelling is so severe, he has not yet been able to go for a scan and is expected to be missing until the New Year.
And seven-times capped star Nilsen is set to miss out with an achilles heel problem and won’t be back until next month. Celtic currently sit in 15th place in the table, a point ahead of Brugge in 22nd.
Meanwhile, Daizen Maeda admits it would be a dream if he could help Japan become the first team to clinch qualification for the World Cup in their next game in March.
Maeda was a late sub for his country as they eased to a 3-1 win in Japan. Hoops colleague Kyogo Furuhashi also came on as a sub, but Reo Hatate was left on the bench.
Japan could now qualify for the tournament as early as March 20, when they host Bahrain, after romping nine points clear of nearest challengers Australia in their group and ten points clear of Indonesia in the automatic qualifying places. And Maeda is desperate to clinch qualification for what would be his second World Cup in a row.
He said: “We have collected as many points as we have because we have a group of outstanding players in the squad. We pay no attention to the opposition because we only concentrate on ourselves. But it would be a dream to guarantee a place at the World Cup as early as this. I believe we have the strongest squad I have been involved with and the strength we have in every position is huge.
“When I play for Japan, I have a lot of responsibility both not to lose the ball and also to find my colleagues on the pitch. When we play as a team we will definitely make a breakthrough no matter who we are playing.”