It’s been a long road to recovery for Mikey Johnston, but the Hoops winger is back and ready to give his all in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.

After featuring as a second-half substitute in Celtic’s 2-0 win over Kilmarnock last month, the 21-year-old marked his return proper by netting an important penalty during the Scottish Cup final shootout of December 20 at Hampden.

The Scottish champions secured a historic and unprecedented Quadruple Treble that afternoon, and now Johnston wants to hit the ground running in the New Year.

“It makes me so happy being out on the pitch,” said Johnston in an exclusive interview with Celtic TV. “Obviously, being out for so long was hard and there was a lot of hard work that had to in to get myself back where I am, so I’m just happy to be back on the pitch with the boys again.

“It can be frustrating, not being able to effect things on the pitch when you’re out, especially in the games where we’ve been struggling a bit recently. We weren’t even allowed to go to the games because of the COVID stuff, so that was tough, having to watch it from the couch in the house. It was tough, but I’m just happy to be back.

“I thought the penalty in the cup final would be a good way to bounce back after so long. I think it’d have been something I’d have regretted for the rest of my life if I didn’t take it, to score a penalty in a Scottish Cup final, so I’m just buzzing that I’ve done it.”

Mikey Johnston: I’m so happy to be out on the pitch again