Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed the return of Mikey Johnston from injury after the winger picked up some minutes in the B side’s Glasgow Cup fixture against Partick Thistle.
The wideman joined fellow first-team hopefuls, Karamoko Dembele and Johnny Kenny within Tommy McIntyre’s young Celtic side, which came out 5-0 winners over Thistle, with Johnston getting himself a goal and an assist on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking to the press ahead of Monday’s Scottish Cup tie against Dundee United, Postecoglou confirmed that they are now available for selection after building up fitness last week.
“That was the whole idea. Mikey missed a couple of weeks. Mikey, Karamoko [Dembele], Johnny [Kenny] got some game-time, and they’re available. That means they got through the game okay,” he said, speaking via Celtic TV.
“They obviously had today off [Thursday] because they played, but they’ll be back training with us on Saturday, and they’re available. Mikey is in the same boat as everyone else.
“To be fair, it’s not easy because if you come to our training at the moment, I’ve got the easy job. I could probably pick 2 or 3 different XIs and still come out looking like a genius.
“The boys are the ones who are working really hard and fighting hard for spots not just in the XI but in the squad.
“That’s exactly the space we want to be in where they’re all pushing each other. That means that if they get an opportunity, they’re in good shape, and that includes guys like Mikey.”
With a busy and competitive run-in to come in the Scottish Premiership, Ange Postecoglou will likely be delighted to have all options available as his players continue to return from injury.
That will be no different for the likes of Johnston and Dembele, who could very well have a say during the final eight league fixtures, in which Celtic will be looking to take maximum points from, to lift the league title at the end of the campaign.
The B side’s midweek fixture proved as a good run out for those also involved in the first team, and hopefully, it can be shown as a good tool, which has helped several players get up to speed ahead of a crucial period.
