Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers would’ve been pleased to see some of his key men return from injury in his side’s victory over Motherwell last weekend.
Cameron Carter-Vickers came off the bench to replace Maik Nawrocki with roughly half an hour left to go, providing his side with some much-needed solidity in central defence.
To his right, Alistair Johnston also returned to the fold following a nasty facial injury he sustained in the Bhoys’ victory over Hibernian at Easter Road earlier this month.
The Canada international performed excellently at right-back, completing seven recoveries and playing 32 successful passes into the final third [Fotmob].
Johnston also teed up Adam Idah for what turned out to be the game-clinching goal at Fir Park, firing a low ball across the goalmouth that the Irish forward turned home in expert fashion.
As far as a first fixture back is supposed to go, Johnston enjoyed a brilliant afternoon that he will be keen to follow up by starting against Dundee tonight.
Rodgers’ men have to win tonight to keep the pressure on Rangers at the Scottish Premiership summit, with their arch-rivals kicking off to Kilmarnock simultaneously.
Celtic’s Alistair Johnston opens up on why he removed his mask
Anyone who witnessed the first portion of the action against Motherwell would’ve noticed that Johnston sported a piece of facial protective equipment in North Lanarkshire, which had been utilised to speed up his return to action.
Nevertheless, the mask didn’t last very long, as the former Montreal man opted to take it off in the midst of his side’s comeback.
In typically humorous fashion, Johnston opened up on his ‘symbolic’ reason for removing the mask, as he stated [Cited via The Daily Record]: “I just felt it needed to go. It almost felt symbolic. The first half wasn’t my best football.”
He later added: “It just felt like, ‘Let’s get this thing off and see what happens’. It did turn around, I’m going to take part credit for that. The mask going and the bad juju it had.”
Fair play to Johnston, as he has shown a commendable amount of bravery to make sure he is back on the pitch when it matters for Celtic.
Of course, there is a line to tread between being bold and careless; however, the Parkhead medical team will be doing everything they can to make sure he is right for coming matches.
Undoubtedly, the Canadian full-back is a key component of Rodgers’ backline that can also offer an unrelenting desire to support his winger, which has been missed since his absence, it has to be said.
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