Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers had had to rotate his squad this season amid injury problems that have mounted over the last few months.
For once, the Irishman appears to have a near full programme of individuals to pick from, with the likes of Reo Hatate, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales returning from fitness problems for our 3-0 victory away to Livingston last weekend.
According to reports, Callum McGregor and Luis Palma may also come back in time for the Glasgow Derby, offering Rodgers some additional depth from middle to front.
Of course, we at 67 Hail Hail will keep Celtic fans up to date with any news that emerges from Rodgers’ press conference.
Speaking of McGregor, his absence has thrust Tomoki Iwata into the limelight at Parkhead, and the Japan international has started our last five league matches, helping the Bhoys to four wins in that time [Transfermarkt].
Charged with shielding the back four, the 26-year-old has done a commendable job in the circumstances. In Celtic’s 3-0 victory at the Tony Macaroni Arena, he won 100% of his contested ground duels (8/8) and successfully completed 64 of his 73 attempted passes [Sofascore].
Every week, you can see Iwata is growing in confidence as he continues to prove his worth at Parkhead as we enter the final stages of the campaign.
Tomoki Iwata eyes new Celtic role amid recent form
Primarily, Iwata is associated with breaking up the play in midfield and showing composure to kickstart attacking moves, though he has scored once against Heart of Midlothian and assisted Daizen Maeda at home to Livingston in the Scottish Cup.
Nevertheless, in an interview with the Celtic View, he has vowed to add goals to his game, either as a creator of more opportunities for his teammates or by putting them away himself.
Iwata stated: “I always think about the part of my game where I’m involved in scoring. It’s one of my strengths to read and stop opposition attacks from defence, but I want to show that I can also get involved in goals on top of that, so I was happy that I could show that in the Livingston game, and I want to continue that every game.
“It’s important to continue to improve my performances, and if I have a chance to play, I want to be the player who can contribute to winning matches.
“I want to be more involved in goal contributions – that is going to be important for me. If I have the opportunity to play in the coming matches, I will focus on the results and on showing how I can improve in each match.
“As a team, I think it is very important for us to focus on one game at a time and win matches together. If we can improve the quality of each performance and improve game by game, I believe we can ultimately end the season the way we want to.”
Despite being deployed in a deeper role, given his versatile nature, there is no reason to suggest that Iwata couldn’t function higher up if offered the chance.
Whether we ever see that under Rodgers is another conversation, though as long as he continues to flourish, Celtic fans won’t be too bothered where he plays.