Celtic have had their fair share of injury problems in recent weeks. With the club not having a very deep squad to begin with, these have certainly prevented Ange Postecoglou from picking a team even close to his strongest XI. And with the Hoops struggling to deliver results at the moment, the manager will be hoping that the players are fit and available again as soon as possible.
While most are not expected to be out for long, there are some players, whose injury problems will be a big worry for the Hoops.
Christopher Jullien has been out of action for a long time and it will be interesting to see how he performs when he returns to the pitch. On the other hand, things have been stop-start for James Forrest, who has returned a few times since last season, before ending up on the sidelines once again.
One player whose injury problems have probably been the biggest worry is Mikey Johnston. And while he did make an appearance against Livingston, it appears he is now out injured again. Alison Conroy tweeted out:
Ange Postecoglou says Giakoumakis will have a scan after injuring his calf in Celtic’s warm up tonight. Mikey Johnston out again after picking up an injury in training. Outside chance of Callum McGregor being back for next Thursday’s Europa League tie.
— Alison Conroy (@AlisonGConroy) September 23, 2021
The Celtic star’s injury problems continue
Johnston looked like an incredible prospect when he broke into the first-team. And his record for the club, when he has played, is very good.
According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has made 60 appearances overall, featuring for 2709 minutes, scoring 11 goals and providing 9 assists in the process of doing so. That is a goal contribution every 135 minutes or so, brilliant for a young winger who is yet to truly establish himself in first-team football.
Coming into the team, many believed that Johnston had the potential to be a 25 goal-a-season player. But the Celtic star has been in-and-out of the team with injuries continuously for the past few seasons now.
At 22 years of age, he still has a lot of time to turn things around and his talent is not even in question. But one has to wonder whether he will be able to remain fit in order to fulfil his potential.