Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate ruled out of Scottish Cup final with knee injury

Celtic star Reo Hatate has been ruled out of the Scottish Cup final with a knee injury picked up in their win at Pittodrie on Wednesday.

The midfielder has been an almost ever-present for the Hoops this season, playing 55 games across all competitions, and has been a key player in a successful season with 11 goals.

He will now miss the game against St Mirren on Saturday, in the game Celtic will lift the Premiership trophy, and, more importantly, next week’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen.

Brendan Rodgers, who revealed that Cameron Carter-Vickers will return to the squad this weekend, believes Hatate will be fit again for pre-season training.

Speaking on Friday, the Celtic boss said: “Reo will miss the last two games, sadly for him and for us. He’s had a fantastic season in terms of availability and been involved in 55 games for us, so it’s just a shame that he will miss the last couple of games.

“He should be ok for the beginning of pre-season, it’s a shame for us, and even more so for him, that he misses these next two games.

“I said at the time that I thought it was a needless challenge, everyone knew it was a free-kick, and he was just there to stop the ball running away.

“So for that to happen, in those circumstances, it’s not nice.

“Cam is back in, Ali (Johnston) was obviously in the squad midweek, so he is fine.”