Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has explained Mikey Johnston’s latest injury problem as he stated that it’s nothing too serious.
The winger had to limp off against Raith Rovers after an unimpressive display on what was a rare occasion for him to shine. It was a gutting blow for Mikey, who also suffered a setback in pre-season with a hamstring pull.
The Lennoxtown academy graduate looked emotional as he came off as fears were sparked that he may have suffered some serious damage.
However, speaking at a press conference in which 67HailHail attended, Ange explained that it was an ankle sprain and that it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. As he gave a rundown of his team news for tomorrow night’s clash with Bodo/Glimt, Ange said:
“Mikey Johnston who picked up a bit of an ankle sprain, it’s nothing too serious but it will keep him out for a little while. Everyone else got through okay.
“Josip Juranovic is available, he’s been back training after missing the last couple of games. That’s it. Yosuke Ideguchi obviously is not registered so he won’t be available.”
Mikey Johnston won’t be out for the long-term
It’s a major boost for Mikey this. It looked as though the potential damage he suffered against Raith could’ve resulted in a longer-term issue. That tends to be the fear when it comes to Mikey given his injury record.
However, instead, he’ll be back in the near future it seems without a definitive timeline having been put on things.
Many would debate whether we would see him back in the first-team regardless of course. With Jota and Daizen Maeda available to Ange, it’s difficult to see too many opportunities for Mikey anytime soon. But it still wouldn’t set him back as much as if he was again crocked on the sidelines for another few months.
It’ll be interesting to see how he responds to this latest blow. It’s vital he goes out in the summer and bags minutes elsewhere. That’s the only way he’s going to be able to build a long-term Celtic career. He needs a full season worth of games not too dissimilar to Ryan Christie back in 2017.
It’s not as if we have the joy of being overly rotational in the coming weeks. Ange will still want to be putting our strong XIs, and right now it’s difficult to even say Mikey is first-reserve for the left-wing spot.
Even so, thankfully it’s not a serious knock for the winger. There’s still a player in there somewhere, but we’ll never know his full potential until he manages and extended run of competitive games.
In other news, Ange highlights Celtic players’ brilliant Lennoxtown response after post-Raith remarks
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