Brendan Rodgers was playing it cool over the fitness of Cameron Carter-Vickers after Tuesday’s win over Athletic Club.
The American defender made his long-awaited return against the La Liga outfit, taking part in a match for the first time since April.
Carter-Vickers underwent knee surgery in early May and has been recovering since, yet it was like he’d never been away on his return to Celtic Park.
He featured in a largely disjointed first-half performance, but still looked his usual commanding self, making one notable goal-saving tackle.
Fans will now expect to see him back in the team for Saturday’s Premiership opener against Ross County. However, Rodgers wasn’t making any major statements.
“We will see,” the Celtic boss told The Herald after the game. “We have to analyse that over the next couple of days but it was great to have him back.
“He is a very important player for us. He got through the 45 minutes.
“Tony Ralston as well, coming back, it was great to have Tony on the pitch as well.”
So not a huge amount from Rodgers. Given that Carter-Vickers has been missing for three months it’s perhaps only natural that Celtic would take stock after his return.
Assuming there has been no adverse reaction to the run-out, we’d fully expect to see the commanding defender back in the team for the County game.
He may well be standing next to Maik Nawrocki too. It’s incredibly early days but the Celtic support have already witnessed a partnership worth getting excited about.
The big Pole didn’t have a huge amount to do on Tuesday night, with a lot of Athletic’s efforts coming from distance. But he looked equally as composed as Carter-Vickers at the heart of the defence.
Sometimes you just get a feeling about a partnership, and there’s something about this Carter-Vickers and Nawrocki one. The summer signing seems very comfortable on the left-side with his partner best on the right.
Sure, Carl Starfelt will have something big to say about the make-up of our defence this season. But Rodgers’ decision to start Carter-Vickers and Nawrocki together may have been telling.
A similar decision on Saturday would be even more significant.
In other news, Rodgers is looking forward to Flag Day
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