Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston revealed he was “getting close” to a return as he provided a positive update on his recovery from a hamstring tear.
The influential Canada international suffered his injury in the first half of the goalless first leg of the Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty on August 20.
Johnston was initially told he would be out for 12 weeks, which would have meant mid-November, but he has been progressing well and could be back sooner than that.
“It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been out there but the recovery’s been good,” the 27-year-old said in a club interview.
“I haven’t had any real setbacks, which has been nice. I’ve been doing tons of work behind the scenes with our medical staff and I’m feeling really good.
“It’s been difficult watching all the matches from the side. As a player, that’s probably the hardest thing to do, not being able to affect the game and not really feeling like you’re completely a part of the group.
“But that’s just fuelled that fire to get back as quickly as possible, so we’re getting close now. We’re not going to put a timeline on it, but I’m feeling really good and I’ve been keeping well.
“We’ve checked off all the boxes that we need to check and we’re definitely ticking towards getting back out there. I’m just looking forward to getting back out there and being with the team again.”
Johnston heaps praise on Colby Donovan
In Johnston’s absence, Anthony Ralston and Colby Donovan have shared the right-back berth. Johnston has been impressed with the way 19-year-old Donovan has performed in his six outings – three as a starter – since his debut at home to Livingston in August.
“Colby’s been great,” said the Canadian. “From what I’ve heard talking to the gaffer and knowing Colby, I think the biggest thing that’s stuck out to everyone is his personality. I don’t think that was ever in question.
“Now that I’ve been in this changing room for the past couple of years and been out, played at Celtic Park, I know what it takes and what a Celtic player looks like at this point and he looks like one in terms of the personality, the confidence that he has on the ball.
“That’s something you need, especially as a young kid, to go into those kind of environments like he did in Belgrade and be able to handle the moment, not look overwhelmed. It’s been really impressive. He’s been really just like a duck to water.
“He’s done so good so far at taking it all on board and I think he’s going to be a great player. We’re really lucky to have him here at Celtic.”