Blow for Ireland as Celtic winger Mikey Johnston ruled out for three months
Ireland winger Mikey Johnston has been ruled out for three months.
Ireland senior boss Stephen Kenny has been dealt a blow ahead of September’s crunch European Championship qualifiers against France and Netherlands as tricky winger Mikey Johnston has been ruled out for the next three months with a back issue.
Johnston, who returns to Celtic after a loan spell with Portuguese outfit Vitoria last term, was hoping to break into the Bhoys first team under new manager Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers handed Johnston his Celtic debut during his first spell in charge so, after some strong showings for Ireland and Vitoria in the last sixth months, coupled with the Celtic Park departure of star winger Jota, the 24-year-old had good reason to be optimistic for the upcoming campaign.
Mikey Johnston suffers injury.
“Sadly for Mikey he is going to be out for a few more months,” Rodgers said. “He had an issue with his back, sadly, so he’ll probably be out for near-on three months.”
Making himself an important player for the Republic of Ireland on the international stage is surely another ambition for Johnston, but that dream has also been put on hold for the time being.
Johnston switched allegiances from Scotland in March as he qualifies for the Boys in Green through his grandparents.
His injury record and subsequent patchy form in a Celtic jersey put doubts in some supporters minds over his capability to deliver on the international stage, but he made himself an instant hit with Ireland fans with lively cameos against Latvia, France and Greece, before netting in Ireland’s most recent game – a 3-0 win over Gibraltar.
Blow.
Unlike many of his international teammates, Johnston plays with a fearless ambition to take on and dribble past defenders – an attribute valued highly by Kenny, whose Dundalk success was so greatly helped by the exploits of wing wizards Michael Duffy and Daryl Horgan.
His absence will come as a setback for Kenny who reportedly needs his team to take a minimum of two points from the games against the Netherlands and France if he is to be kept on as manager by the FAI.
