News has broken tonight that Celtic will be without defensive rock Cameron Carter-Vickers for their final Champions League group stage match of 2022. Football Scotland have reported that Cameron will miss out and has been left behind in Glasgow.
The report states: Cameron Carter-Vickers is OUT of Celtic’s clash with Real Madrid tomorrow evening after suffering an injury blow. Ange Postecoglou’s men have jetted out to Spain ahead of the final match of their Champions League group stage campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium tomorrow. However, the manager has revealed the defender did not travel with the rest of the squad and will now miss the game against Carlo Ancelotti’s side through injury.
This is not what the Celtic support needed on the eve of our foray into the Bernabèu. Carter-Vickers has been our main defensive pillar and his absence from the side last time was keenly felt. The USA international provides us with that security blanket; tough in the tackle and quick off the mark, it is very rarely that anyone gets the better of the former Tottenham Hotspur man.
It now means that presumably Stephen Welsh will partner German Moritz Jenz at the Celtic rearguard. Both men along with veteran Joe Hart will need to remain vigilant and remain concentrated at all times to avoid a rather unpleasant situation developing. As we’ve seen, the Champions League is no place for amateur defending. The strikers at this level are lethal, something that we have been guilty of not being at the opposite end of the pitch.
Paul Gillespie
