Celtic's Japanese players are awaiting more news on their potential World Cup qualifiers - after a friendly that was set to precede the Saitama double header was cancelled.
An all J-League side was set to take on Uzbekistan on January 21.
That initially included new Parkhead stars Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate, before their intercontinental transfers to Parkhead meant they were allowed to drop out of the squad.
They could, however, be included in Hajime Moriyasu's selection for the Qatar 2022 qualifiers at the end of the month.
So, too, could Kyogo Furuhashi as his sensational debut season in Scotland continues. However Yosuke Ideguchi, who joined alongside Maeda and Hatate on Hogmanay, has not been capped for some time and represents more of an outside shot.
But there's late doubt being cast on the fixtures after the Kirin Cup clash was shelved because Uzbekistan's travelling side would not have been let into the country.
With both the China clash on January 27 and the match against Saudi Arabia on February 1 to be played at home, it raises fresh concern over the pair of fixtures - which overlap the Scottish calendar including a crucial clash against Rangers on February 2.
The JFA will be desperate to get the games on given they are make or break when it comes to securing an automatic slot for the tournament in December and reports in Japan suggested "public interest" would ensure overseas players such as those at Celtic would allow them to get special dispensation to travel into the country.
But the decision to trash the friendly due to take place just six days earlier could throw the plans into doubt, with the possibility of playing the games outside of Japan.
