John McGinn sends Celtic message to Aston Villa fans on Instagram after West Ham draw

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John McGinn was an injury scare for Aston Villa ahead of Celtic’s visit in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The 30-year-old picked up a hamstring injury for the Midlands side against Leicester City at the start of January.

But the Villa captain returned to action during his side’s 1-1 draw against West Ham United on Sunday when he came off the bench as a second-half substitute.

It now means McGinn is fit to face Celtic and it makes the trip for Brendan Rodgers’ side even more special because of his added story.

McGinn is a boyhood Celtic fan and he has faced the Bhoys many times before in the colours of St Mirren and Hibernian.

But this is something entirely different because there is no bigger stage than Europe’s elite competition.

John McGinn returns from injury for Aston Villa against West Ham

Villa dropped more points in the Premier League and failed to win a game after a midweek European match, despite taking the lead against West Ham.

Just as Emerson equalised for Graham Potter’s side, McGinn was brought onto the field of play in the 73rd minute and he failed to make an impact.

You suspect it still opens the door for the all-action midfielder to line up against his fellow countryman, such as Callum McGregor, on Wednesday night.

McGinn’s Celtic message as Aston Villa push for automatic qualification in Champions League

Celtic and Villa can still secure automatic qualification to the round of 16, so it still adds extra spice to this fixture.

The issue for the Bhoys is that, even if they win, it still won’t guarantee those top eight spots because of the number of teams ahead of them.

But Villa are one place below eighth-placed Bayer Leverkusen and McGinn made it clear on Instagram that it’s an ‘important week’ for his side, as he urged everyone to be ‘focused’ and ‘together’ for the Celtic match.

“Not the result we wanted, of course, but great to back out there with the boys,” wrote McGinn.

“An important week ahead where we will need everyone to be focused and together. Keep the faith!”