johnreid 
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Celtic attacker Sead Haksabanovic was a big miss for the Hoops in the recent win over Aberdeen. The Hoops dominated the game, but the victory wasn’t sealed until a late Callum McGregor goal clinched the three points.
Celtic attacked for a lot of the game, but found it difficult to create real chances in the game, and the match could have been won earlier if the attacker had been available for selection.
The 23-year-old was recently named as the November Player of the Month, which shows just how important the player has become to the club after what was a relatively slow start to his Celtic career.
Hopefully Ange Postecoglou has a positive injury update on Haksabanovic before the game against Livingston this midweek, as the game could be similar to the Aberdeen match, as Livingston might well attempt to make it difficult for the Hoops to find the back of the net at Celtic Park.
Haksabanovic showed his class in Celtic’s last game before the World Cup break, as he scored the winning goal against Ross County, and Celtic missed the attacking threat that the player would have provided as the Hoops struggled at times to break down the massed ranks of the Aberdeen defence.
The Hoops have so many attacking players in the squad that the Celtic manager can rotate his options, but Daizen Maeda, who was possibly starting instead of Haksabanovic, had a quiet game and was replaced at half-time by Liel Abada, and it wasn’t really a surprise that Maeda had a poor game after his exploits in the World Cup.
If Haksabanovic had been available for the game, he would likely have had a better game than Abada, and it wouldn’t have been a shock to see him find the back of the net for the second Celtic game in a row. With the number of games Celtic have to play in the weeks ahead, the Hoops will want as few injuries to deal with as possible, as with so many games you want to have the biggest squad available.
Haksabanovic might have been an unexpected signing when he joined the Hoops, but he has shown how valuable a player he has become when he missed at Pittodrie.
Hopefully the injury which kept him out of the match versus Aberdeen isn’t a bad one, and he is back in the Celtic squad for the game against Livingston. Celtic fans will be awaiting the manager’s injury update ahead of the midweek match at Celtic Park with interest.
Abada had a great half when he came on. Did you watch at all?
Couldn’t agree more Allison. Tommy Bradley.
Abada frustrated me when he came on I kept wanting him to take his man on and get to the byline but he kept passing inside. So I can see what you’re saying in your article but he was far better than Daezen was in the first half. I think Saed is better than both of those guys at the moment but when Abada gets consistency in his game he’ll be unplayable he’s still only 21 so he’ll become much better.