Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed that full-back Alistair Johnston is expected to remain unavailable until October.
The 27-year-old Canadian was substituted at half-time during the second match of the season against Kilmarnock after spending much of the previous campaign sidelined by a hamstring problem.
Medical scans have now shown that Johnston will face another period away from the team.
Ahead of the Champions League play-off second leg at LASK, O’Neill said the examination had identified an issue and indicated that the defender would probably not return until sometime in October.
Celtic strengthened their forward line during the summer and have also been associated with several midfield targets, but O’Neill acknowledged that the defence may require further additions.
He noted that Kieran Tierney is effectively the club’s only left-sided full-back and said the coaching staff would assess possible reinforcements.
However, O’Neill stressed that his complete attention would remain on the upcoming match, irrespective of its outcome or the competition in which Celtic ultimately continued.
With the transfer window closing on 3 September, he remains hopeful that the club can complete several new signings.
O’Neill added that there were no fresh developments concerning reported interest in Slovan Liberec’s Ermin Mahmic or Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis.
The manager said he had previously been informed that 14 players had departed while only two replacements had arrived at that stage.
He explained that those figures did not provide the full picture because several of the departures were loan players who had already been expected to leave. Celtic’s priority, he said, was to recruit footballers capable of improving the team’s overall standard.
O’Neill said the club could easily increase the size of its squad with numerous signings, but securing genuine quality was far more important for the period leading up to January.
Nineteen-year-old Colby Donovan has filled in for Johnston and delivered an encouraging performance during Celtic’s 3-0 first-leg victory over LASK at Celtic Park. Scotland international Anthony Ralston is another available choice at right-back.
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