Brendan Rodgers’ side have been preparing well this week ahead on Sunday’s Premiership clash with Aberdeen at Celtic Park.

But they have had to do so without Daizen Maeda, who is out for up to six weeks after picking up an injury in the midweek match against Atletico Madrid.

The Celtic manager confirmed the news in an injury update, also explaining that the player picked up the injury in the challenge which saw him given a red card following a VAR review.

It was a very harsh decision for the Hoops, and Maeda’s injury has only compounded the dissatisfaction with what happened in the Metropolitano Stadium.

Speaking at Lennoxtown today, Brendan Rodgers looked ahead to Sunday’s match against Aberdeen.

“There’s no difference in terms of analysis,” he said. “We still prepare like every game is a big game. It doesn’t matter who we play.

'Of course, the whole nature around the Champions League makes it a bigger spectacle, but every game is a big game when you’re a Celtic player or manager, so we get ready and prepare well for Aberdeen.'

“We’re all good apart from Daizen Maeda, who will probably up to six weeks out with the injury from the challenge. It’s a big shame for us because he’s been brilliant for me since I came here.

“It’s a big loss because his attitude and mentality going into every game is superb. He initiates the pressure for us at the top end, but I always say, it’s an opportunity for someone else to come in and take that opportunity to play.”

Celtic go into Sunday’s match against Aberdeen aiming to maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the Premiership table, and that has been the focus for the players following their return from Champions League duty.

“That’s what training’s for,” explained the manager. “You come off after a game like that (Atletico) and you lose heavily. You have to be honest and accept that, and even though we don’t like it, that’s how the game panned out for us.

“But it’s why we train, it’s why we come back into work again because if you don’t go again, someone else wins.

'So you have to show the strength, whether you’re a player or a manager, and that’s why I always say, put 24 hours on it and grieve in that moment.'

“It’s not nice but you have to go again and that’s what we do, and that’s why an environment isn’t something you buy, it’s something you create, and we have an environment which is based around honest appraisal of performance, and then you draw a line under it and you move on. And that’s what we do.

“There’s a culture here which is an honest culture, to assess the game and where we can be better in it and where we can improve and then we move on.”

WATCH BRENDAN RODGERS’ FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW:

Reflections on UEFA Champions League game
Squad injury update
The future of VAR
Fans singing his name

Manager: Every game is a big game for us