Mikey Johnston has revealed that a serious calf issue was the main reason for his 11 month absence from first team football.
A knee injury after coming on as a substitute against St Johnstone in January was the initial problem but behind that a blood flow issue was identified in his calves.
Surgery was carried which meant that 2020 was virtually a write-off but he did come off the bench against Kilmarnock and Hearts, scoring in the penalty shoot-out win to clinch the Scottish cup at Hampden.
Celtic haven’t had much luck with injuries this year with Johnston revealing exactly what he has been through this year.
He told The Sun:
I did my knee at St Johnstone in January which was a three-month thing but I also had an ongoing calf issue, so I had to have surgery to get it sorted.
The operation should have been at the start of the virus, but because of everything that was going on it got delayed a bit. I had a problem with the blood flow in my legs and they had to release it. It wasn’t anything drastic in terms of surgery, so there were no concerns.
I don’t think it’s very common, but I’m glad it’s behind me. I’m 100 per cent fit now. Hopefully I can bring something different to the team and add a bit of what we’ve been missing. It was tough watching the games, but this can happen to teams.
You can struggle at some points and things haven’t gone our way in some games but we are being positive now. It was amazing to come back for such a big occasion as the Scottish Cup final.
It’s about who wants the penalty at that moment in time and I was confident I could step up and score. I have taken them in the past, so I thought I could do it and it was great to win.
Johnston was pictured in training for around a month before he made his comeback against Kilmarnock but now appears ready to play his part in the hectic months ahead.
Three matches over eight days against Ross County, Hamilton Accies and Dundee United will decide whether the SPFL title remains a prospect, the return of Johnston gives Lennon more options across all the front positions.
