Celtic right back, Alistair Johnston, has been omitted from Canada’s Gold Cup squad to allow him to fully recover from an injury, according to the national team’s manager, John Herdman.
Despite recovering from an ankle injury in time to help Celtic secure a treble by winning the Scottish Cup Final against Caley Thistle, Johnston has been given a break from international duty.
Johnston, a crucial member of the Canadaian defence, recently started in the CONCACAF Nations League Final, where Canada lost to the USA in Las Vegas.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been an automatic selection for Canada’s Gold Cup squad, which is set to face either Guyana or Guadeloupe in Toronto, followed by matches against Guatemala and Cuba in Houston.
However, Herdman has explained the decision to leave Johnston out of the squad.
He stated: [SunSport]
“Some players need a break to recover from injury.
“Alistair Johnston was carrying an injury he picked up on club duty with Celtic.
“So we’ve got some young lads that we’ll start looking at for this Gold Cup.
“I would have loved to have the same squad as for the Nations League, but it won’t happen.”
Hopefully, Alistair recovers fully for pre-season, which commences at the start of July, with Celtic due to fly to Portugal for a training camp before heading to Asia for matches in Japan and Korea.
