Celtic winger Mikey Johnston could feature during this weekend’s derby against Rangers, John Kennedy confirmed in his pre-match press conference today.
Johnston hasn’t played for Celtic since coming on as a substitute against Kilmarnock in early February. That was one of only eight appearances for the club this season, which has been blighted by injury for the academy graduate.
He missed the vast majority of 2020 with a knee problem sustained against St Johnstone and it’s been a long road on his recovery.
After suffering another setback recently, he is now giving food for thought to Kennedy when considering who to deploy against Rangers at Ibrox.
The interim boss told reporters [YouTube]: “Mikey Johnston has trained this week, so we have got a better squad in terms of options going into the game.”
Mikey Johnston will be looking forward to new Celtic era
It’s unlikely Johnston will start the match given his lack of action over the last couple of months, but using him as an option from the bench seems very realistic. That’s especially true if Kennedy chooses to start a two-winger formation.
Still just 22, Johnston is one of the fringe players at Celtic who must be looking forward to trying to impress a new manager at Lennoxtown in the coming months.
If he stays injury-free, he should get opportunities to feature in the new Hoops era, despite his problems over the last year.
With 11 goals and eight assists in 57 appearances, he has a respectable goal contribution total considering most of his action has come from the bench as a developing player. [Transfermarkt]
The next step for him is finding the consistency in performance that marks him out as a reliable Celtic player. If he can’t offer that under a new manager, he could soon find his Hoops career hitting the buffers completely.
In other news, James Forrest return could result in Celtic formation change for Sunday derby.
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