Report: Celtic youngster Johnny Kenny unlikely to be fit for Ireland U19s on Saturday

By David Walton

March 24, 2022

Celtic youngster Johnny Kenny is unlikely to be fit for Saturday’s games between Republic of Ireland Under-19s and Portugal, the Irish Examiner reports.

Kenny had to be stretchered off in the game against England last night – a match that ended in a 3-1 defeat for the Irish youngsters.

Kenny had hit the post and generally made a good impression early on. However, with 35 minutes on the clock, he was wiped out by England goalkeeper Matthew Cox. The Examiner reports that the recent Celtic recruit left the pitch whilst holding his knee.

Incredibly, however, England youngster Cox wasn’t even penalised for a foul for the incident. And that clearly left Ireland U19 boss Tom Mohan unhappy. As quoted by the Examiner, Mohan said: “England’s goalkeeper was the last man back and he clearly caught Johnny. Playing against an England side with 10 men would have made it a different game but we still had them on the ropes in their own backyard.

“We pinned England back and dominated them in stages of the second half. We created plenty of chances but needed one to go in because I thought we could have pushed them for the last 15 minutes. It’s a sore one to take.”

And with Kenny reportedly likely to miss Saturday’s game, it looks as though his own international period is over until the summer.

Johnny Kenny struck with some early injury woes in his Celtic career

If Kenny’s knee is still painful even now, it’s difficult to see why he should be risked for Saturday’s game. Especially when you take into account the injury troubles he’s already has since his arrival.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Kenny signed for Celtic whilst already carrying an injury. He then went on to have Covid which set him back further.

Only now has he started to feature for Celtic B, making his debut back in early March with a goalscoring performance against Partick Thistle. Ange has also recently lauded the youngster for how he’s been training and the impact he’s been making with the B team.

At only 18, he has the world at his feat. But it’s imperative that any return from injury isn’t rushed. Ireland under-19s will likely have to cope without him for their clash with Portugal this weekend.

As for Kenny, he’ll undoubtedly have been disappointed. He’ll have been looking forward to featuring against England and Portugal this week. It would’ve been a prime opportunity for him to make his mark and catch the eye of Celtic supporters to an even greater extent.

Unfortunately, it looks as though it’s just all about recovery from the former Sligo Rovers man.

In other news, Israel U21 coach lauds “excellent” Celtic star Liel Abada