Alistair Johnston is out of Celtic’s Scottish Cup tie against St Mirren this weekend. The defender sustained a severe head injury early in the Hoops’ 2-1 triumph against Hibernian on Wednesday evening. During an aerial challenge, Hibs’ Nectarios Triantis collided with the Canadian international, resulting in him earning his team a penalty. Despite this contribution, the 25-year-old right-back had to be substituted, with Anthony Ralston taking his place. Johnston was promptly taken to the hospital for evaluation, but he reassured fans via social media after Adam Idah secured the win with a second penalty kick.
However, manager Rodgers has informed the press that the defender is suspected to have a fractured bone, ruling him out of Sunday’s fifth-round match in Paisley.
In other team news for the Buddies’ game, South Korean players Yang and Oh are back in contention after participating in the Asian Cup. They, along with Japanese forward Daizen Maeda, have returned to Scotland and are once again eligible for selection by the champions.
Meanwhile, Neil Warnock, the new manager of Aberdeen, believes that Celtic and Rangers are no longer significantly superior to his team. Warnock, who recently took charge at Pittodrie, experienced his first Scottish football match at Ibrox on Tuesday, resulting in a narrow 2-1 loss. This defeat left Philippe Clement’s side temporarily level on points with Celtic at the Premiership summit. However, Celtic extended their lead to three points with a victory over Hibernian, although Rangers still have a game in hand. Last weekend, Aberdeen managed a 1-1 draw against Celtic under interim manager Peter Leven.