James Forrest confident that Celtic's Mikey Johnston will defeat setbacks

By John Reid

September 6, 2020

Celtic’s James Forrest is confident that his attacking team-mate Mikey Johnston can overcome his long-term injury woes, The Celtic View reports.

Johnston has not kicked a ball this season. Indeed, he has not played for the Hoops since suffering a knee injury against St Johnstone in January.

However, he could soon be on his way back. Neil Lennon told the Herald in August that Johnston had an operation to sort problems with his calves.

The player’s recovery seems to be going well, as on Friday 67HailHail reported that Johnston posted on Instagram that he was playing on grass again only 23 days after his operation.

That will please Forrest, who disclosed that the player is ‘highly thought of’ at the club.

Celtic winger Mikey Johnston (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“He’s highly thought of at Celtic, everyone buzzes off him when he’s training and playing” Forrest said, as quoted by the Celtic View (Volume 56, Issue 6, Page. 13).

“A good boost”

“Mikey will want to come back with a buzz about him, because he’s been out a wee while. He’ll be gutted, but he’ll be back soon and hopefully it’ll be a good boost for him.”

Johnston will no doubt be desperate to get back on the pitch. Nine months out of action will frustrate any player.

Mikey Johnston takes a shot at goal (JONAS EKSTROMER/AFP via Getty Images)

However, he will have to be careful with his rehabilitation. Johnston will not want to pick up a reoccurrence of the injuries which have led to him missing a lot of football.

Will get confidence from team-mate’s remarks

If he is looking for a confidence boost ahead of his return he will certainly get that from Forrest’s remarks. It shows how highly that Johnston is rated by the other players at Celtic that the squad ‘buzzes’ off his style of play.

Hopefully that encourages Johnston as he works to get fully fit. Maybe it can also influence how he will perform when he gets back on the pitch.

Johnston can be a real asset for Celtic when he is on his game. It is good to see a club great like James Forrest recognise that.

In other news, some Scotland fans are pining for Leigh Griffiths to return to fitness.