Alistair Johnston has been a massive miss for Celtic.
Johnston suffered a bad injury against Kairat Almaty in the first leg of the Champions League play-off tie at Parkhead in August.
He tore his hamstring and had to be stretchered off, before it was confirmed he was facing at least 12 weeks out and wouldn’t play again until November.
However, Johnston confirmed his return timeline is ahead of schedule and that appears to have been substantiated by Brendan Rodgers.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesRodgers delivers promising Johnston news
Rodgers spoke to the press ahead of facing Hibs on Saturday and intimated that Johnston is close to returning to Celtic training.
However, he stressed that there is still a way to go for Johnston to complete a full recovery. The boss said: “We’ve got Ali Johnston, yes Ali will be hopefully joining us soon, but clearly not ready yet.”
Anthony Ralston and Auston Trusty updates
Rodgers also touched on Anthony Ralston and Auston Trusty, who both suffered foot and heel injuries respectively.
The Northern Irishman said: “Tony trained at the beginning of the week, he obviously travelled with us and he’s available for tomorrow.
“Auston had his first day back with the training group today.”
Reo Hatate is a doubt
And to round up the injury news, Hoops maestro Reo Hatate is a doubt for the Hibs clash due to a tight hamstring felt against Red Star Belgrade.
Rodgers explained: “We’ve got Reo as a question mark, but apart from that, we’re virtually the same.
“He felt a bit tight in his hamstring, so we’ll just have to monitor that, and I’ll find out this afternoon where he’s at.”