Soccer Football - Scottish League Cup Final - Hibernian v Celtic - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 19, 2021 Celtic's Cameron Carter-Vickers in action with Hibernian's Martin Boyle Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Journalist Pete O’Rourke has been reacting to an injury to Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers during the international break.
The Lowdown: International break injuries
Carter-Vickers was absent in the Hoops’ 2-0 defeat to St Mirren prior to the international break and was left out of the USA squad due to a ‘minor’ injury. The centre-back is also thought to be a major doubt for this weekend’s clash with Motherwell.
Celtic’s issues went from bad to worse during the international break, with Daizen Maeda, Sead Haksabanovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis all suffering injury scares while representing their countries.
The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments
O’Rourke, talking to The Transfer Tavern, labelled Carter-Vickers a Celtic ‘leader’ and said that the injury is ‘a blow to Ange Postecoglou’s side’.
“He is a bit of a leader in that Celtic team, so to lose him will be a blow to Ange Postecoglou’s side because the replacements are nowhere near as good as Carter-Vickers.”
The Verdict: Postecoglou’s options
Carl Starfelt has been out for almost a month now, last featuring against Rangers on September 3, with Postecoglou hinting that he could ‘potentially’ return after the international break.
Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz started against St Mirren, so the Hoops boss may have to call upon the pair once again, should Carter-Vickers and Starfelt miss out.
Welsh especially struggled last time out and was one of the worst performing outfield Celtic players, as per SofaScore, with a match rating of 6.5/10, so Postecoglou will be hoping for an improved display, while also wanting Starfelt and Carter-Vickers back fit as soon as possible.
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