Giorgos Giakoumakis' absence against Rangers on Sunday is a "huge blow" for Celtic, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.

The Greek striker has been in excellent goalscoring form of late but will miss the Scottish Cup semi-final clash at Hampden Park after a hamstring problem sustained against St Johnstone last weekend.

What happened to Giakoumakis?

Giakoumakis continued his impressive form in front of goal to score the Hoops' second in their 7-0 victory, which was his seventh in five Scottish Premiership games and 13th for the campaign.

But it was definitely a case of unlucky 13 after he hobbled off just five minutes later after injuring his hamstring.

As a result, Ange Postecoglou confirmed that Giakoumakis will miss the crunch clash against Rangers this weekend, which could go some way to helping Celtic win the domestic treble.

The Celtic boss said: "I'm not too sure at the moment. He didn’t think it was too bad, but he could feel something.

"It's always a concern when players do that. He's had an enormous load the last few weeks. "It's unfortunate for him but I'm hopeful he'll still be available for us in the run-in."

Giakoumakis has been Celtic's main man in the second half of the season, netting eight top-flight goals, while he's scored in every round of the Scottish Cup.

What did O'Rourke say about Giakoumakis?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "Giakoumakis came off injured against St Johnstone at the weekend with a hamstring injury, which looks like it's going to rule him out of the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers, which is a big blow for Celtic because he's been in good form."

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Who could start in Giakoumakis' absence?

For the first time in a while, Postecoglou has other options up front, with Kyogo Furuhashi finally back in action following a long spell on the sidelines.

The Japanese striker made his comeback late on in the St Johnstone game, which would have been a great relief for the Celtic boss after watching Giakoumakis come off through injury.

However, with just 17 minutes under his belt in the last four months, it's unlikely that Furuhashi is thrown in from the start so soon after returning, especially for a game of this magnitude.

Therefore, Daizen Maeda, who's played through the middle already this season, could get the nod despite starting on the left in each of his last three appearances for the Hoops.