The one particular Celtic player Joe Hart really wants to see become a big hit

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Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has admitted that he really wants to see Mikey Johnston become a smash-hit at Parkhead.

Johnston made his first-team debut back in 2017 in a 4-1 mauling of St Johnstone at Celtic Park. However, nearly 5 years on and he’s made nowhere near the impact he would’ve hoped for in the first-team.

Injuries have set him back massively, not least a shocker of an ACL tear that halted him just as he threatened to really make an impact here in 2019. A hamstring tear back in pre-season was yet another setback for him, whilst yesterday he had to go off with an ankle knock in a rare opportunity against Raith Rovers.

However, speaking before yesterday’s injury for Mikey in a Valentine’s Day video posted today, Hart pinpointed Mikey as the one particular Celt he wants to see come good.

Speaking via Celtic TV, Joe said: “Mikey Johnston, he’s a cheeky boy but someone I really like and really want to do well. He’s an incredibly talented player. He’s been through a lot, a lot of difficult injuries that maybe people on the outside wouldn’t necessarily understand.

“It’s not their job to understand, but he’s getting his head down, he’s got a good personality, and he’s a top player.”

Mikey Johnston – the clock is ticking for him to impress at Celtic

Johnston’s contract at Celtic runs until the summer of 2025. In theory then, he still has another 3 campaigns left to really stamp his authority and make his mark in the first-team squad.

At only 22, it still seems a touch premature to be writing him off at the moment. Not when we’ve seen what can happen with the likes of Anthony Ralston for example. Nobody can be written off under Ange, even if they’ve yet to make any sort of sustained impact.

However, in Mikey’s case, what’s holding him back most is his injuries. Forgetting all of his on-field talent and deficiencies, none of those matter unless he’s playing regularly. He can’t improve his game if he’s continuously stuck on the treatment table.

Yesterday’s injury against Raith was a damaging one for him. The routine 4-0 Scottish Cup clash was Mikey’s best chance to really reannounce himself as a first-team player once more. He’ll have gone into the contest hoping to bag a goal or 2 and to at least have left fans satisfied with what he produced.

Instead, he was again having to limp off with supporters instead left wowed over his replacement, Jota. As of right now, we still don’t know how long the ankle knock picked up yesterday will keep Mikey out for. But it’s fair to say his reaction yesterday was one of sheer pain and frustration.

Hopefully we see him back before too long. You feel his Celtic career can’t go another long-term injury.

In other news, The blatant Celtic decision nobody wants to talk about as penalty verdict dominates media