Massive Celtic blow confirmed ahead of Atalanta match

Celtic must be keen to bounce back in the Champions League after their last match ended in a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund. Their next opponents might not have that same name value but they could be just as good. Atalanta have been one of the best teams in Italy for the past several years under the management of Gian Piero Gasperini, who has been with the club since 2016.

Celtic cannot go into this game with the same tactics that they did against Borussia Dortmund. If they do, another heavy defeat would come as no surprise.

But on the other hand, it might not be just about tactics either. Celtic have pretty much struggled in all their matches in which they have not had Cameron Carter-Vickers available at the back. Unfortunately, that looks set to be the case against Atalanta as well.

There is some bad news for the club's fans. As tweeted by Stephen McGowan, Carter-Vickers didn’t travel with Celtic to Italy for the Atalanta game.

Massive Celtic blow confirmed ahead of Atalanta match

This will not come as a surprise as Celtic have been without Carter-Vickers for several weeks. But it comes as a blow nonetheless.

Carter-Vickers has been Celtic's rock at the back since he joined Celtic back in the summer of 2021, initially on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. For the past couple of years, he has been dealing with constant injury problems though.

When available, Carter-Vickers is an automatic starter and Celtic's best defender. But his unavailability is becoming a real problem for the Hoops for sure. One can only hope that he is back to full fitness as soon as possible. Brendan Rodgers' side have looked shaky in recent games, even those in domestic competitions, failing to hold on to a two-goal vs Aberdeen at the weekend.