Auston Trusty’s second season at Celtic hasn’t really got going yet.
The 27-year-old was brought to Glasgow by Brendan Rodgers in a £6 million deal from Sheffield United last August, having previously played for Arsenal and Birmingham City.
Competing with Liam Scales for a spot as the left-sided centre back, Trusty spent some of his early time deputising for Cameron Carter-Vickers on the right side of the pair.
In a successful Champions League campaign for the Hoops, Trusty started nine out of ten games, allowing him to break back into the US National Team under Mauricio Pochettino.
However, his 2025-26 campaign so far has been a battle for fitness. Trusty has reflected on this, revealed a new injury setback and discussed his national team ambitions.
Auston Trusty on injuries and national team ambitions
Trusty is yet to start for the Hoops this season, making three substitute appearances against St Mirren, Aberdeen and Kairat Almaty.
He is understandably not in Mauricio Pochettino’s latest international selection, but Carter-Vickers is.
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But when reflecting on his Celtic performances so far, Trusty is willing to blow his own trumpet – he revealed this and his most recent injury setback while speaking to The Rondo.
He said: “I tore my plantar fascia just coming back a few days ago. So that kind of ruined some momentum.
“But it’s just about getting back into momentum and showing [The USMNT] that ‘hey, I’m here as well. I’m performing at an extremely high level.
“Look at all my stats. Look at the people I’m defending against in the Champions League – now we’re in the Europa League, and then game-wise and league-wise, I’m performing.
“My passes, my accuracy, look at all my stats. And when you get that opportunity outside of training to play in the games, it’s about not giving any excuses, and really setting in stone why I should be in starting.”
With the USA hosting most of the games at the next World Cup, Trusty is understandably hugely motivated to get into the national team picture.
Celtic’s defensive options
Fans may remember that Trusty’s substitute appearances so far this season have been in replacement of Kieran Tierney, who has struggled to complete full matches since returning to Glasgow.
With Scales earning praise for his start to the season and Dane Murray and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey also now in the picture, it will be fascinating to see if Trusty can become first-choice again.
As he mentions, his best moments from his first season were hugely encouraging – particularly in away matches against Atalanta and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Some Hoops fans still aren’t convinced, though. We’ll just have to, as Auston puts it on his Instagram, Trusty the process.
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