Cameron Carter-Vickers was surprisingly left out of the Celtic squad against St Mirren even though nothing had emerged earlier about the American defender suffering an injury. And the Hoops certainly felt his absence on the day as they conceded twice against the home side and slumped to a 2-0 defeat, allowing the Rangers to cut the lead from five to two points.
This result will serve as a wake up call for Celtic, as there is still a long season to go and this is not going to be a cruise to the title like many had started to expect after beating the Rangers 4-0 at Parkhead in the first Glasgow Derby of the season.
The fans will just be hoping that Carter-Vickers is not out of action for any extended length of time, with Carl Starfelt also struggling with injuries this season. And the combination of Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz did not cover themselves in glory vs St Mirren.
Ange Postecoglou has given an update on the situation of Carter-Vickers as it looks like he will miss the United States camp. As reported by the Daily Record, he said:
"“We’ll see how he is. I think he’s out of the US camp, so we are hoping post international break he won’t be too far away.”"
Celtic have suffered massive Carter-Vickers transfer blow
Carter-Vickers suffering an injury is a blow for Celtic without a doubt. While the defender might not have been grabbing the headlines this season, his importance to the team was laid bare against St Mirren, as the Hoops conceded more goals in one game than they had in the past six league matches combined.
Now, it will be very interesting to see when Carter-Vickers does end up making his return to the side.
Postecoglou was not very clear about the extent of the injury and it is still vague how serious it is or how long he could be out of action for as a result of it.