John Kennedy (Scottish footballer)

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Personal information
John Kennedy
Full name	John Kennedy
Date of birth	August 18, 1983 (1983-08-18) (age 24)
Place of birth	Bellshill, Scotland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Celtic
Number	41
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999-	Celtic	28 (1)
National team²
2004	Scotland	01 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 December 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 3 December 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

John Kennedy (born 18 August 1983 in Bellshill) is a Scottish professional football (soccer) player currently playing for Celtic F.C. He is a defender and is also a Scotland international. Kennedy is the grandson of Celtic and Manchester United player, Jimmy Delaney, but he is not related to John Kennedy, a goalkeeper who played for Celtic in the 1960s. Kennedy is currently Celtic's longest serving player with 8 years at the club.

Kennedy suffered a serious knee ligament injury on his international debut against Romania in March 2004 which kept him out of the first team for three years. The SFA agreed to compensate the club with respect to the player's wages following his injury. In late 2006 Kennedy resumed training and was named as a substitute for Celtic's Champions League match against A.C. Milan on 20 February 2007.

He started his comeback against Kilmarnock on 22 April 2007, helping Celtic clinch the title. He played the full 90 minutes, but Shunsuke Nakamura stole the headlines, scoring in the final minute with a free-kick. Four days later, on April 26, he signed a new three-year contract with the club.^[1]

On 28 November the same year, however, playing in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk, he was stretchered off after twisting his knee landing after an aerial challenge. The initial diagnosis was that he sustained damage to his lateral meniscus and the posterior lateral complex of the same knee he'd previously injured, ruling him out for up to 3 months.^[2]

Note: There was another John Kennedy, a substitute goalkeeper, who played for Celtic under Jock Stein during the 1960s.