As Celtic prepare for a potential title-clinching fixture against Kilmarnock tonight, Alistair Johnston shared how he was feeling after John Lundstram’s tackle in the Glasgow Derby.
The Celtic defender was subject to a horror tackle from the Rangers midfielder and eventually had to be taken off to get treatment as he struggled to carry on playing.
And after a VAR review, match referee, Willie Collum overturned his initial yellow card to a red and ordered Lundstram to grab an early shower.
The tackle was condemned by many and barring Kenny Miller and Graeme Souness, the universal opinion was that VAR called it correctly.
Johnston told he was ‘lucky’ by doctors
Alistair Johnston was asked how he was feeling now a few days on from the tackle and whilst he says he’s okay, the Celtic fullback explains why the doctors told him he was ‘lucky’ after the challenge.
Johnston said [Celtic TV], “It was a bit swollen but structurally it was okay which was the most important thing.
“So happy with how it ended up being. Got a bit lucky in the end but happy with how it is right now.
“Just being the fact that it was actually the ankle that I had done about 12 months ago and I had to get surgery on.
“But again, I knew that it wasn’t as bad as that previous one which was, again, a nice feeling. But the doctor looked at it they did all the tests after and they were happy with it, structurally how it looks.
“But yeah, I think they kept telling me that I got a little lucky that had it been weight-bearing it would have been potentially a pretty ugly one. So happy with that.”
Thank goodness Johnston is okay as that ankle kept him out of the game for a number of weeks last season.
With Celtic preparing for two big Scottish Premiership fixtures this week, there is also small matter of the Scottish Cup Final to look forward to as well.
And if Celtic want to grab that double, Johnston will be a crucial part of that and Brendan Rodgers will undoubtedly be pleased that he is available at this crucial stage of the season.