Johnston Sidelined Until October as O'Neill Admits Celtic Need Defensive Reinforcements
Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston will be out of action until October after a scan confirmed another spell on the sidelines, according to manager Martin O'Neill (BBC Sport).
The 27-year-old Canadian went off at half-time in Celtic's second game of the season against Kilmarnock, and the prognosis is an unwelcome case of déjà vu. Johnston missed most of the previous campaign with a hamstring injury, originally sustained in a Champions League play-off draw with Kairat in August 2025. Brendan Rodgers, then in charge, projected a 12-week absence at the time. Johnston fought his way back after roughly two months out, returning to full training by mid-October and working his way back into the side.
Now he is back in the treatment room, and the timing is awkward. O'Neill delivered the news ahead of Celtic's Champions League play-off second leg away to LASK, a tie they lead 3-0 from the first leg at Celtic Park. That opening win was notable for the performance of 19-year-old Colby Donovan, who deputised for Johnston and impressed on the European stage. Scotland international Anthony Ralston is another option at right-back — the position Johnston occupies — giving O'Neill some cover, if not the experience he would prefer.
The bigger picture is one of squad depth. O'Neill said Celtic have lost 14 players this window and replaced them with only two. He described the defensive area as one that needs strengthening, and with good reason: Kieran Tierney, the former Arsenal left-back who returned to Glasgow this summer, is essentially Celtic's only left-sided full-back. The transfer deadline falls on 3 September, leaving little time to address the imbalance.
O'Neill also faced questions about incoming business. There was nothing further to report, he said, on links with Ermin Mahmic of Slovan Liberec or Torino's Gvidas Gineitis — two names circulating in the rumour mill but, for now, just that.
For Celtic fans, the concern is less the LASK tie — a commanding lead makes that task manageable — and more the weeks that follow. A European group stage, domestic fixtures stacking up, and a backline held together by a teenager and a 27-year-old whose body keeps letting him down. Johnston's resilience is not in question. He came back once already. The worry is whether he can stay back.
Donovan's emergence is the silver lining. A teenager stepping into a Champions League knockout and keeping his head is no small thing. If O'Neill cannot or will not sign cover before the window shuts, the kid may have to grow up fast.
