Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate has travelled an astonishing 17,608 miles within the last month.... without kicking a ball for Japan.

And when he returns to Glasgow next week ahead of the top of the table clash with Aberdeen, he will have flown over 5,000 miles longer than the distance around the world.

The Hoops star was an unused sub as Japan continued their impressive World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win in Jeddah against Saudi Arabia this week.

He at least made the bench this time after not even being named as a sub in last month's double-header wins against China at home and away in Bahrain.

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Hatate last played for Japan in June in a 5-0 win over Myanmar in June, but has been completely snubbed by manager Hajime Moriyasu since, despite naming him in all his squads.

And he's travelled enormous distances for nothing, unlike Celtc teammate Daizen Maeda who is a key player for Japan and came on as a sub in Saudi.

Last month, Hatate travelled from Glasgow to Tokyo for Japan's 7-0 win over China in Saitama, which was 5,790 miles. He then flew another 5,179 miles to Bahrain to watch Japan win 5-0 in Riffa from the stands before flying for another 3,398 miles to return to Glasgow.

This month, Japan based themselves in Jeddah for their first qualifier and Hatate jetted another 3,241 miles to get to the Saudi city.

It means he has now flown 17,608 miles so far without even a second of action.

And there will be more air miles for Hatate this week.

He will fly back to Japan for the huge game against Australia on Tuesday in Saitama, which will be another 5,995 miles.

Hatate will then fly 5,790 miles for his return to Glasgow.

It means he will have flown 29,393 miles in the last month - well over the 24,901 miles calculated as the distance around the earth's circumference.

Japan boss Moriyasu was only concentrating on another win after employing his recent new 3-4-2-1 tactics.

He said: "We play what is described as an attacking back three system, but the players also showed they were good at defending because Saudi Arabia pinned us back for long periods.

"My focus is on connecting good defending with fast attacking."