Yang Hyun-jun is set to miss up to four Celtic games after the South Korean FA selected him for South Korea's Asian Games squad. The winger is expected to leave before Celtic's September 2 match with Aberdeen, with the tournament running from September 5 to October 3.
That schedule leaves Celtic planning around a starter who has featured regularly this season. South Korea's Asian Games selection also carries the added incentive of helping a player avoid mandatory military service if South Korea win the competition.
Celtic plan around Rangers fixtures
The absence window includes Celtic's league match against Rangers on September 13 and the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers on September 20. Those are the two fixtures most likely to define the spell without him, and they sit inside the period when Yang is away with South Korea.
Martin O'Neill still has options on the left side, with Sebastian Tounekti able to deputise and Haissem Hassan able to fill in there as well. Jota is not expected back until at least the end of September, if not a little later, which narrows the cover available while Celtic manage the stretch against Rangers and Aberdeen.
South Korea's Asian Games timing
The timing matters because the Asian Games begin before the September international break, so Yang's departure comes ahead of Celtic's own run of domestic fixtures. His return depends on South Korea's progress in the tournament, which leaves Celtic waiting to see whether the winger is back soon after the competition or later in the autumn.
For Celtic, the immediate issue is not a general squad absence but a specific one: a starter taken out of the side for a sequence that includes league and cup matches against Rangers. For Yang, the selection places him in a tournament that carries both international weight and a possible route around mandatory military service, and the length of Celtic's adjustment will be set by how far South Korea go.
