A variety of wingers have come and gone at Lennoxtown over the last few seasons.

Some are mostly remembered fondly, like Scott Sinclair, Mo Elyounoussi and Patrick Roberts. Some are remembered with a wonder of what might have been, like Lewis Morgan or Daniel Arzani. Some are barely remembered, like Oli Burke and Charlie Musonda.

James Forrest has been the constant throughout all this, the first pick on the right-hand side while Celtic sought answers on the left. Others like Marian Shved and Timo Weah have been brought in with the intention of being short and long term fixes, but apart from Sinclair and, to an extent, Elyounoussi, the opposite flank hasn't had the same consistency. Truth be told, the depth on both sides hasn't been ideal for the past few managers and when looking at the recruitment it's not hard to see why.

However, another constant name in that rather shallow pool of selection in the wide areas has been Mikey Johnston. Now 22 years old, he made his debut against St Johnstone in May 2017. Four seasons later, the next appearance he makes for Celtic, once he's recovered from another injury setback, will be his 60th. That's an average of 15 appearances a season which, for a boy becoming a young man, might seem fairly decent at a club like Celtic, but the problem for Johnston now is building on what were such promising career beginnings.

After making his debut in a 4-1 win against the Perth Saints a few weeks after his 18th birthday, in which he chalked up an assist, Johnston made one more appearance the following campaign before a breakthrough season of sorts in 18/19.

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With Scott Sinclair the left-sided star, a youthful Johnston had to settle for a supporting role and completed 90 minutes just once during that term, being brought off 10 times and being subbed-on on 12 occasions. His impression was enough to earn him a three-year contract extension until the end of season 22/23, offered and signed while Brendan Rodgers was in charge. The Northern Irishman was one of Johnston's biggest fans and praised his "natural instinct" and "electrifying speed", aspects which allegedly enticed Panathanaikos into thinking about a loan offer.

The following season saw Johnston fulfil an almost identical role in the team but mainly due to injury trouble: 22 appearances, with none of them lasting the entirety of a match. His season started well with heavy involvement in the European qualifiers and a goal against St Johnstone in an opening day 7-0 thrashing but just as Johnston, now under the stewardship of Neil Lennon, looked to be shifting gears a groin injury halted his progress until December. He tentatively came back with a few appearances before the cup final against Rangers, in which he came on at half-time and missed a gilt-edged one-on-one chance to score a second and seal the game for 10-man Celtic.

He managed six league games after recovering from his groin injury before disaster struck in January 2020, suffering an injury to his medial collateral knee ligament against St Johnstone and not returning until December's 2-0 win against Kilmarnock when he was afforded five minutes from the bench.

Nine more appearances followed before the end of last season, with fitness issues ruling him out of at least eight other games, but this summer he was ready and raring to go. Celtic's slate had been wiped clean and a new manager was in town, the winger pool has almost run dry and Johnston was at the top of the food chain.

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After several stop-start seasons on the bounce and a knee operation, it was his time, until a "significant" injury struck again against Bristol City in pre-season. 

Long story short, it just hasn't happened yet for Johnston at Celtic but he turns 23 years old this season and after the arrivals of Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and the continual presence of James Forrest, where does Johnston fit in? Should Ryan Christie sign a contract extension at Celtic, he looks to have a residency on Postecoglou's left-hand side too, so Johnston is probably down the pecking order.

Would a loan move when he's fit again, much like Christie did at a similar age, benefit the young man? If Celtic are performing well, it'll be extremely hard to force his way into Postecoglou's starting XI, which at his age is now vitally important. I wonder if Stephen Glass, Jack Ross or Callum Davidson among others would be interested in taking Johnston on loan in January if he's recovered and on the periphery at Celtic.

One thing's certain: time is on the winger's side generally speaking but as far as his Celtic career goes, can the same be said? Another season on the sidelines, either on the treatment table or substitute bench, won't benefit either party.

It's a travesty for the player and Celtic fans that such a promising young talent has had his career stalled by injury trouble, but he has to flourish soon. It's a harsh reality but in the hard-edged world of elite sport - that's the way the cookie crumbles. Johnston will be hoping his body doesn't.