SO SAD;Brendan Rodgers finally announced the exit of Reo Hatate as his replacement confirm

Celtic were officially crowned as champions of the Scottish Premiership for the fourth time in as many seasons when they beat Dundee United 5-0 away from home last month.

Braces from Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn, after an own goal from Ryan Strain, secured the win and the title for the Hoops on the day, which made the rest of their league games relatively stress-free.

There was some negative news that came from that result, though, as Jota hobbled off with a knee injury just before half time, and it has since been confirmed that he will be out for between six and nine months.

This means that the Portuguese winger will not be available for selection when the Hoops take to Hampden Park to face Aberdeen in the SFA Cup final next weekend, and he is set to miss the start of next season on top of that.

Jota, however, is not the only Celtic star who will not be available for Brendan Rodgers to call upon at the national stadium, as the manager has confirmed that Reo Hatate is set to miss the match through injury.

Why losing Reo Hatate is a big blow

The Northern Irish head coach recently revealed that the Japan international suffered a knee injury in the 5-1 win away at Aberdeen, after being on the wrong end of a “needless” challenge.

Rodgers confirmed that the 27-year-old star should be fit for pre-season, if all goes well, but he will not be in the squad that travels to Hampden Park to take on the Dons, which is a blow for the Hoops.

Losing Hatate to injury is a big blow because he has starred for Celtic in the middle of the park throughout the campaign.