Cameron Carter-Vickers is back at the forefront for Celtic ahead of their Champions League clash against RB Leipzig after recovering from a foot problem.
The United States international stepped up his comeback by appearing off the bench against Motherwell, which has been followed by successive starts against Dundee and Aberdeen alongside Auston Trusty.
Making his mark, Cameron Carter-Vickers opened the scoring against Aberdeen to send Celtic on their way to a 6-0 victory in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, providing the ideal warm-up for tonight’s encounter.
Specifically, the former Tottenham Hotspur man has been dealing with discomfort in his toe, adding to a lengthy list of injury issues at Celtic that have led him to miss 42 days of action last season and 84 in 2022/23, including during the summer.
With his injury record a subject usually well-covered, Carter-Vickers has laid out how he plans to stay fit for the Bhoys now he is back and firing.
Cameron Carter-Vickers on his Celtic injury record
Speaking to The Daily Record, Carter-Vickers said on his injury record: “I want to play as much as I can. It’s obviously frustrating when I can’t, but it’s good to be out there and, hopefully, that continues.
“Last season, it was the hamstring, which is probably more delicate than the toe. Hopefully, once I’m over kind of the pain, then I should be good. But, yeah, that’s what I want ideally. I just want to be playing games and staying fit throughout the season. To be fair, I thought I was in a decent groove, a decent rhythm, before I had to stop for a bit.
“I actually done it in the St Mirren game away. Obviously, I think we had Rangers next, so I kind of played with it through that game and then international break, you kind of calm down a bit. Then the Hearts and the Slovan game I kind of got through.
“But, after that Champions League game, it was probably too sore to continue, but I’m feeling better now, so hopefully it stays like that.It’s good to be back playing now and hopefully, the more games I play, the better I can get and the more rhythm I can get.”
It’s all about rhythm for Cameron Carter-Vickers
He said it himself, getting into a rhythm of playing every week will be crucial for Carter-Vickers as he gets over the worst of his foot problem.
Since his return, Celtic haven’t conceded a goal across their three domestic encounters, illustrating the importance of his presence in the side.
The task now is to carry that onto the European stage. Trusty and Liam Scales managed that feat against Atalanta.
What a boost it would be if Carter-Vickers helped the Bhoys achieve similar tonight against another elite-level opponent.
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