Celtic fans were naturally left concerned when Cameron Carter-Vickers limped off the Dens Park pitch in the 55th minute of the club's 3-0 win against Dundee FC. The result was a pleasing one, with unexpected sources of goals on the day. Mikey Johnston scored a brace while Paulo Bernardo was also on the scoresheet. But the headlines after the match were filled with the American defender's potential injury ahead of the Glasgow Derby.
With the Glasgow Derby against the Rangers set to be played at Parkhead at the weekend, the last thing Celtic needed was an injury concern surrounding Carter-Vickers. He is the club's best defender and leader at the back.
If Carter-Vickers does end up missing the Glasgow Derby, it will be a major blow for Celtic. In that situation, Stephen Welsh would probably get the nod from Brendan Rodgers, although he has played very little football lately, having come from a long-term injury not too long ago.
Fortunately, Rodgers sounded hopeful about Carter-Vickers' situation and it looks like the change might have been precautionary more than anything. As reported by The Scotsman, the Celtic manager said:
"He’s hopefully OK.
“He felt a bit of tightness (in his hamstring) and we had said to him before that he didn’t need to be a hero. If he felt anything, just come off. We’re hoping he’s OK but we’ll find out in the next couple of days."
Celtic boss offers Cameron Carter-Vickers update amid injury fears
So, the situation of Carter-Vickers is still unclear. But at least that is somewhat of a positive update from the manager.
At the same time, one cannot overlook the fact that Carter-Vickers has been dealing with a lot of fitness issues lately. If he is not fully fit by the Glasgow Derby, would it be worth the risk to start him against the Rangers?
This is not a great situation to be in by any stretch of the imagination. One can only hope that Carter-Vickers recovers as soon as possible and is back on the pitch this weekend, in arguably the most important match of the campaign.