Celtic have posted pictures of Alistair Johnston in training, giving Hoops fans hope that the right-back will be back in the matchday squad soon.
Johnston has been injured for some time now, suffering his first setback during Celtic's draw against Kairat Almaty at the start of the season. He was ruled out for 12 weeks but eventually made his return against Sturm Graz in the Europa League, where he unfortunately suffered another setback.
The fullback was set to be out until the end of March, and now, his return could be imminent.
Johnston has been called up by Canada for their upcoming games, which fans were absolutely buzzing about. Manager Jesse Marsch has confirmed that he will not be playing any minutes, but he will be training with the squad with the hopes of the player returning to football "in the coming weeks".
Speaking about the injured Moise Bombito and Johnston, Marsch said:
"Neither will feature in any of the friendlies this month. They’ll train with the team and be around the group, with the hope being that they’ll return to action for their clubs in the coming weeks.
Moise and Alistair are two that, for a long time, we have committed to having them come in and then having them be around the team.
Which I think more than anything, was important mentally for them, but also for them to get up to speed after they've missed a lot of windows, so they will be coming."
Marsch's comments suggest that there are no setbacks in his recovery, with the player now working towards match sharpness. His recovery is almost complete.
Brilliant news for Celtic fans
This is amazing news for the Hoops, especially with the news that right-back Julian Araujo may be out through injury. The defender was snubbed by Mexico, and that has worried Celtic fans, and we are all hoping that he won't be out for long.
Johnston's coming back would take some weight off Araujo, as we could expect squad rotation. The Mexican has played a lot of minutes recently, as was to be expected, but taking some pressure off of him would be welcome.
Johnston coming back for the title run-in is just absolutely incredible. We will need everyone we can for this intense title race, with us only being a few points off Hearts, who still sit in first. Johnston could play a crucial part in getting us one step closer to that league title, as he has done so many times before.