Celtic star waiting in wings ready to be thrust into Parkhead limelight after making World Cup qualifying bow
The shot-stopper hasn’t looked out of place when given a chance to impress for both club and country
Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo has confessed he is happy to bide his time and wait for his opportunities to impress whenever they arise after making his first World Cup qualifying start for Finland.
The former Aston Villa shot-stopper has been serving as understudy for both club and country, with Kasper Schmeichel ahead of him in the pecking order at Parkhead and Monaco star Lukas Hradecky currently holding down the number one stop for the Finnish national team.
But the 23-year-old seized his chance following an injury to Hradecky as Finland came from behind to defeat Lithuania 2-1 in Helsinki on Thursday night.
And Sinisalo is determined to prove he belongs on the big stage, having already shown he doesn’t look out of his depth after keeping a clean sheet in half of his 10 appearances for the Hoops to date.
“I know my situation, I know the position of my club and I know what to expect in the future,” Sinisalo admitted. “I also know that Lukas Hradecky is the captain of my country and will be back.
“He is, of course, a big loss. He has been a huge footballer for Finland for a long time and a big personality in the dressing room.
“As a young goalkeeper, you don't have that much credit in the bank. So every time you get a chance, you have to show that you belong there, both for Celtic's goal or Finland's goal.
“You always have to do that in every game. That's what I'm trying to do and hopefully sooner or later things will go in a way that will see me reach my targets at Celtic and also here for the national team one day soon too.”
Alistair Johnston ‘getting closer’ to Celtic injury comeback
Sinisalo is expected to be given a run in the Celtic team under Brendan Rodgers in the near future following a couple of glaring errors from veteran Schmeichel so far this season including against Braga in last week’s 2-0 Champions League defeat.
As he waits in the wings, Sinisalo’s return to the starting line-up could coincide with right-back Alistair Johnston, who is nearing his comeback from a hamstring injury earlier than was initially anticipated.
The Canadian international suffered a tear of his hamstring during the Champions League play-off first leg with Kairat Almaty in August and it was feared at that time that he would be sidelined for up to 12 weeks.
However, Rodgers stated last week that the defender could be back in the squad for the Premiership clash against Dundee after the international break.
Johnston admits it has been difficult watching on from the stands but intimated that he was “getting close” to being back in contention. Speaking to Celtic TV, he said: “It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been out there but the recovery’s been good.
“I haven’t had any real setbacks, which has been nice. I’ve been doing tons of work behind the scenes with our medical staff and I’m feeling really good.
“It’s been difficult watching all the matches from the side. As a player, that’s probably the hardest thing to do, not being able to affect the game and not really feeling like you’re completely a part of the group.
“But that’s just fuelled that fire to get back as quickly as possible, so we’re getting close now. We’ve not going to put a timeline on it, but I’m feeling good and I’ve been keeping well. We’ve checked off all the boxes that we need to check and we’re definitely ticking towards getting back out there. I’m just looking forward to being with the team again.”