It seems that Alistair Johnston will soon be making his return to action for Celtic, with the right-back offering an update on his fitness.
Johnston said to The Celtic Way:
"In an ideal world, I would like to be back in time for the split. And I think that’s a realistic target, but at the same time, none of us are writing anything in stone. But if I need an extra week, then I will take an extra week. I don’t have an exact date.
I have tried to do that in the past, and you almost set false expectations for yourself and the coaching staff. We will all take it week by week. My fitness is coming along. It was difficult for me when I re-injured it from a medical and a mental standpoint.
I am happy with how it is coming along. I feel strong, and now it’s just about building up."
He spoke about a rough timeline upon his return from international duty, saying:
"The plan is to get a couple of good weeks’ training and hopefully get a friendly game, which would be set up when I get back. So I will be looking to kick on with the tail end of the season in Scotland and ideally lift a couple of trophies and be ready to go for the World Cup.
When you do two months of individual sessions on your own, you are just desperate to kick a ball. I have only trained a couple of times with the Celtic first team last week, so it has been great to be in a training session and be around the guys.
I just have to be smart about the hamstring because it’s such a finicky muscle and no matter how good you feel you still have to give it time and really listen to it because it’s one of those ones that gets to 90 per cent pretty quickly and that can trigger you into a false sense of security, which it did the first time round for me and I have learned my lesson.
I want to get back as quickly as I can, but the most important thing is when I come back, I want to stay back. But all the testing has been good, and it’s about listening to the doctors."
Johnston has been a massive hit for the Celts since picking up back-to-back injuries earlier in the season. Julian Araujo has softened the blow, but you can't replace the quality that the Canadian brings to the side.
Perfect for the split
Johnston coming back in time for the split will be a massive boost for Celtic in the title race. The 2-0 defeat to Dundee United was a big hit, but now, the Hoops can hopefully bounce back.
Johnston can hopefully reestablish himself as a reliable option once again, and he can bring incredible quality that we can't get anywhere else. Having him and Araujo in the side would be simply amazing, and it could really help us in our quest to retain the title, however unlikely that may seem at the moment.