Brendan Rodgers 'hopeful' Mikey Johnston will get game time at Celtic

Brendan Rodgers has given Mikey Johnston a glimmer of hope that he can feature for Celtic following his international goal.

Johnston has not played for Celtic since March 2022 and his hopes of making a breakthrough following a season-long loan at Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal were hit by a back injury.

But the 24-year-old got his first piece of action of the season when he started for the Republic of Ireland in last Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier win over Gibraltar and was among the goals as Stephen Kenny's side cantered to a 4-0 victory. It was Johnston's sixth appearance in a green jersey since making his debut in the friendly against Latvia last March.

Celtic boss Rodgers, who handed the winger his Celtic debut in May 2017, said: "For me the biggest thing with Mikey was just about being fit.

"At the end of the window there was maybe a scramble about thinking of going out on loan but he was coming off a really nasty back problem where he hadn't trained.

So for me between the end of the window and January he had to prove that he could stay fit and stay robust and build up his football fitness, and then we will see if we can get him some game time because he is a talented player.

"So thankfully he has been able to do that, he has gone away with the international team and got some minutes, which is great, and we will see between now and January if he gets that game time. But he gets the chance to prove it every day in training, he looks strong, and I am hopeful he might get some game time."

Additional reporting: PA