Liam Scales insists he will not go crashing into Celtic teammate Alistair Johnston when the Republic of Ireland face Canada this weekend.
But the defender has backed his club colleague to shine on the biggest stage and believes Johnston can enjoy a standout World Cup.
Scales is in line to feature for Ireland in Montreal as they take on Canada in a friendly that acts as a final warm-up for the hosts ahead of the summer finals. And the Irishman admits it will feel strange lining up against a familiar face.
He said: “I have played left wing back for Ireland at times so I actually might be up against AJ. I will not smash him though. I definitely will not do that to AJ. He is a teammate.
"Hopefully I will get his jersey after the game so that is about it.”
Johnston recently returned from a frustrating spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and played a key role as Celtic secured the Premiership title and Scottish Cup.
Scales has been impressed by how the Canadian bounced back and believes he is primed for a big summer on home soil. He said: “He is top class. He is an incredible athlete, and he is another leader we have at Celtic.
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“He is somewhere in the fifties as far as caps for Canada go and he is only 27. It was great to have him back for those final few weeks of the season. I think he managed it perfectly as well.
"It is tough coming back from a long-term injury like that and having games back to back, but he flew through it. Hopefully now he goes and does the same in the World Cup.”
Scales also revealed how the Celtic dressing room rallied around Johnston during his injury struggles. He said: “We were all there for him when he was out for all that time. When you have an injury then come back and reinjure yourself, I think that has got to be the worst.
“He is a positive guy himself, but we all helped him through it. He could definitely have a big summer.”
Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland in the group stage and Scales admits he will be keeping a close eye on their progress. He said: “Canada are one of the host nations and they have got a good side.
“I have not watched too much of them, but from what I have heard from him, they are coached well, and they are hard to play against.
“I will be interested in seeing how they do and it will be interesting to play against them.”
