Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has said that Mikey Johnston may be given a chance to play after he impressed for Stephen Kenny’s Ireland team during the week. Since returning from injury over pre-season, Johnston is yet to feature under Rodgers, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the summer.
Rodgers was asked about Johnston during the media conference before the trip to Tynecastle on Sunday and his response appeared to indicate that there still a future for the player at the club.
“Mikey’s gone away with the international team and got some minutes. He gets the chance to prove it every day in training. He looks strong, and I’m hopeful that he may get some game time.”
Johnston played in both of Ireland’s games during the International Break, scoring once in the 4-0 away win against Gibraltar in Faro, Portugal. The Irish fans are clearly keen on the winger as an attacking option for their team but all parties will be united in their belief that Johnston should be playing regular football.
Johnston has made 80 appearances for Celtic since making his debut in 2017. In that time, the winger has scored 11 goals and assisted 10 times. Ange clearly saw something in the player but knew that he was in need of game time, which resulted in a move to Vitória Guimarães SC in Portugal, where he scored 3 times and assisted on 5 occasions.
It feels as if there has been a number of occasions in recent years where Johnston has been found at a crossroads with regards to his career. There are a number of players seemingly ahead of Johnston and Rodgers along with his coaches will watch him at training each day.
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