Mikey Johnston has been dealt a cruel blow in his hopes to make the grade under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic. The winger spent last season on loan in Portugal with Vitoria and seemed to get the regular football he was craving. Although, the winger has suffered a back injury which will rule him out for around three months.
Rodgers, who handed Johnston his debut during his first stint, was asked about whether Johnston was ready to feature for him on a regular basis and delivered confirmation of a further spell on the sidelines.
“His job is to convince myself and the coaches that he is ready for a place. Sadly for Mikey he is going to be out for a few more months.
“He had an issue with his back, sadly, so he’ll probably be out for near on three months. But it’s the players’ responsibility and they have to show the quality and consistency and robustness in order to play and that is the job of every player.”
For Johnston, there is hope that Rodgers is clearly still impressed but his talents but crucially, he will need to make sure that his rehab and return are flawless as he may find himself down the pecking order. At just 24, Johnston has his best years ahead of him but in order to reach that potential both he and Rodgers will know he needs to play.
Glimpses of brilliance have always been prevalent in Johnston’s game, recently exhibited in the Internationals for Ireland but he’s been unable to nail down a berth at Celtic.
