Coming out of Brendan Rodgers' recent press conference, most of the talk was about his contract situation not advancing or the injury concern picked up by Reo Hatate in the recent game against Red Star Belgrade. That being said, some positive news was confirmed by the Celtic manager as well, although it did not get nearly as much coverage.
Celtic have had their fair share of injury problems already. For example, Jota, a key player for the club, has been out of action since the end of last season and won't be back until next year.
On the other hand, it does look like Alistair Johnston might be closing in on a return. Initially, it was thought that he would be out until November. But now, it appears that he might be recovering from his issue faster than anticipated.
It looks like Johnston is set to rejoin training soon, although his return to the pitch is still a decent bit away. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Rodgers said:
"We’ve got Ali Johnston, yes Ali will be hopefully joining us soon, but clearly not ready yet."
Brendan Rodgers confirms great news for Celtic everybody missed
Johnston has been the starting right-back for Celtic since he was signed in early 2023, as the replacement for Josip Juranovic, who would leave for Union Berlin soon afterwards. The club was capable bringing in replacements before parting ways with players back then.
Anyways, Johnston has been a pretty good player for Celtic since then, although he has had his ups and downs for sure. It would be amazing to have him back in the squad.
In his absence, Colby Donovan has been the one to fill in at right-back, with Anthony Ralston also picking up an injury at around the same time. And the youngster has done a great job for the Hoops and might have a first-team future.