Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has revealed that full-back Alistair Johnston will remain sidelined until October, prompting the club to consider bringing in defensive reinforcements before the transfer window closes.
The 27-year-old Canada international was forced off at half-time during Celtic's second league fixture of the season against Kilmarnock. Johnston had already endured a difficult run with fitness issues, having missed the majority of the previous campaign due to a hamstring problem. A subsequent scan has now confirmed a fresh injury setback that will keep him out for several weeks.
Speaking ahead of Celtic's Champions League play-off second leg away to LASK, O'Neill addressed the timeline for Johnston's return. "There was definitely something there, and I think the prognosis is really that it will be some time in October for him," the manager said.
With Johnston out of action, O'Neill acknowledged that Celtic's options at full-back have become stretched, particularly given the makeup of the current squad. "If you consider that Kieran [Tierney] is essentially our only left-sided full-back, we'll have a little look," he explained, signaling that the club may move to add cover in that area before the transfer deadline on 3 September.
Despite the pressing need, O'Neill was keen to stress that his focus remained on the upcoming European fixture rather than transfer business. "But I really will not concentrate on anything at all until after the game, regardless of what the result is or whichever competition we happen to be in," he said. "We've got some days before the transfer deadline, and I hope that we will get some people in."
The Celtic boss also moved to dampen speculation regarding two specific targets, confirming there had been no fresh developments in the club's reported interest in Slovan Liberec's Ermin Mahmic or Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis.
O'Neill used the opportunity to address wider concerns about squad depth following a summer of significant turnover at Celtic Park. The club has already strengthened its attacking department, and although the manager admitted the club had lost a substantial number of players, he pushed back against the notion that departures had not been adequately addressed. "I was told some weeks ago that we'd lost 14 players and we'd only replaced them with two at the time," he said. "But I think the whole thing was balanced out. There were some of those players that we took on loan, that were going to be leaving anyway, weren't going to be coming back. And it was a matter of trying to get a little bit of quality in."
O'Neill made clear that quantity was not the priority in the club's recruitment strategy, insisting that identifying the right characteristics in new signings mattered more than simply filling out the squad. "I think that we could fill up the squad if you wanted to, with loads of names. But it was a bit of quality that we were looking for because that eventually would be, I think, of paramount importance between now and January," he added.
In Johnston's absence, 19-year-old Colby Donovan has stepped into the right-back role and impressed supporters during Celtic's 3-0 first-leg victory over LASK at Celtic Park. Scotland international Anthony Ralston remains another option available to O'Neill in that position as the club navigates the coming weeks without their first-choice full-back.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.