Cameron Carter-Vickers has missed a handful of Celtic’s matches this season.
Brendan Rodgers made it clear the American international has had to bide his time and be patient with the injury problems that have plagued him.
A knee issue kept him out at times last season before a toe problem this term has forced him to sit in the stands as the Hoops racked up win after win in the Scottish Premiership.
The USA defender has also missed Champions League fixtures with his deputy – summer signing Auston Trusty – replacing him on the more unnatural right-hand side of centre alongside Liam Scales.
It has been a strong partnership for the Celts in the majority of their outings, albeit the less said about the mauling in Borussia Dortmund the better.
Rodgers has been full of praise for the pair who have locked up the backline with CCV missing and now their stats from the latest analysis of Champions League fixtures have pointed towards an important decision for the manager.
Following their heroic defending in Bergamo as their side held Atalanta to a goalless draw, Irishman Scales and ex-Sheffield United man Trusty were listed on the top 10 list of UEFA’s stats.
Cameron Carter-Vickers has struggled with injuries for Celtic this season
And that will have proven to Rodgers as well as any doubters among the Hoops support that the pairing is one that works and can be relied upon for as long as CCV remains out.
According to the data, Scales ranked number four of UCL defenders having made two successful tackles from three matches and attempted 18 clearances in the same timescale.
How Scales and Trusty compare to other Champions League defenders
He is on par with the likes of Jose Maria Gimenez of Atletico Madrid.
Trusty, meanwhile, has made one tackle and attempted 16 clearances and sits eighth in the defender stats table alongside the likes of Red Star’s Uros Spajic, Mykola Matvinyenko of Shakhtar and Kenan Bajric of Slovan Bratislava.
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