MORTON have been dealt a blow with Denny Johnstone likely to miss the rest of the season.

The Ton striker has spent most of the campaign on the sidelines after being plagued by a troublesome knee injury.

Morton manager Jonatan Johansson had hoped he would be back before the end of the campaign, but now admits it’s unlikely he will feature again after he went to see a specialist.

The forward first damaged his knee when he was on loan at St Johnstone last season, having surgery back in April.

Previous Ton manager Ray McKinnon signed Johnstone back in June on a one-year-deal, when the 24-year-old was still out with the injury at the time.

He made his return to competitive action in August, playing just four games before the same injury flared up again.

The former Birmingham City and Colchester United forward has had multiple setbacks since then in his recovery.

Johansson told the Tele: “Denny Johnstone will be out for the season almost for sure now with the way things have gone.

“At the end of January he went to see a consultant again and it looks like it will be pushing it.

“Looking at the league it will only be a couple more months left, and it doesn’t look realistic that he will be involved anymore in this season.

“I feel for him as well, and it’s a bit frustrating from a club because he was one of the main players for us before the season started and he just hasn’t been able to shake his injury off.”

There were big expectations for the striker returning to the club for his second spell, after spending a season on loan there in 2015-16, when he scored 17 goals.

McKinnon said he beat several clubs in capturing Johnstone, with the forward believed to be one of the highest earning players in the current Ton squad.

Johansson added: “The budget was spent and he was one of the key ingredients for that and he hasn’t been able to play. It’s a big blow for us and for him.”