Johnston and Yamada in training whilst a host of players set to leave

The right-back was given additional time off after featuring in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Canada, co-hosts of the tournament with the United States.

After Canada’s surprise quarter-final exit to Guatemala on penalties last month, Johnston missed the squad’s pre-season fixtures against Queen’s Park, Cork City, Estrella da Amadora, Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United.

Both the Canadian and Cameron Carter-Vickers are the two senior members of the Brendan Rodgers’ side who have missed the entirety of pre-season so far.

Also joining training for the first time was new recruit Shin Yamada, who was presented to the Celtic supporters before kick-off against last weekend’s Premier League opponents Newcastle. The forward arrived from J-League side Kawasaki Frontale in a £1.5 million deal.

Johnston and Yamada both looked upbeat as the squad trained in preparation for the Como Cup, with their opening fixture against Dutch giants Ajax kicking off this evening.

Meanwhile, a host of players look set to depart Celtic over the coming days. South Korean midfielder Kwon will undergo a medical in France to secure a permanent deal with Ligue 1 club Nantes.

Kwon became a Celtic player in 2023 alongside his compatriot Yang Hyun-jun, arriving from K-League 2 side Busan IPark, while Yang was signed from Gangwon FC to join the Scottish champions.

Despite having loan spells at St Mirren and Hibs, Kwon’s time at the club has been non-existent and has career at the Scottish champions now appears to be over.

In other news, Adam Montgomery, who has been involved in Rodgers’ squads for pre-season is set to join Scottish Premiership newcomers Livingston on a season-long loan deal. Also, Championship side Partick Thistle are eyeing a double deal for Celtic B team players Kyle Ure and Josh Clarke.

Conor Spence

Read this – The backstory to Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…