Celtic: £22k-a-week star's 'setback' will be 'big miss' at Parkhead | OneFootball

Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers will be a ‘big miss’ in their upcoming Champions League fixture, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The 24-year-old joined the Hoops on a permanent basis from Tottenham Hotspur last summer following an impressive season-long loan spell and has gone on to establish himself as a key player.

What is the latest news involving Carter-Vickers?

Carter-Vickers was absent for Celtic’s 2-0 defeat to St. Mirren prior to the international break before missing out on the USA’s World Cup warm-up fixtures against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The commanding central defender was also unavailable for the Glasgow giants on Saturday as they narrowly saw off Motherwell, with manager Ange Postecoglou providing an update on his situation in his pre-match press conference.

“Cameron though is a day-to-day proposition, it’s certainly not something that will keep him out long or even medium term,” said Postecoglou.

“At the moment, he is doing individual training, so we’ll see how he is after the weekend and then make our decision about RB Leipzig in midweek.”

With Celtic’s crucial Champions League encounter with Leipzig coming up on Wednesday, Carter-Vickers faces a race against time to get himself back to full fitness.

What has Jones said about Carter-Vickers?

Celtic need to pick up a positive result when they travel to the Red Bull Arena after collecting just a solitary point from their opening two games of Group F.

And Jones believes they have already suffered a ‘setback’ in their chances of doing just that given the precarious position that Carter-Vickers is currently in regarding his fitness status.

He told GiveMeSport: “Carter-Vickers, particularly, will be a big miss in the Champions League. I’m sure they’d be worried about that. So, it sounds to me like his injury, obviously, is a setback.”

How big a loss is Carter-Vickers?

Carter-Vickers racked up six goal contributions in 45 appearances for Celtic last term across all competitions, helping his side claim the Scottish Premiership title and League Cup crown.

The 6 foot 1 ace then put pen to paper on a four-year £22,000-per-week contract after Celtic splashed out £6 million to make his stay permanent, and he has continued his fine form into the current campaign.

As per WhoScored, Carter-Vickers has won 3.7 aerial duels while making 1.2 interceptions, four clearances and 0.7 blocks per league game, placing him in the top two for each metric amongst his teammates.

Having Carter-Vickers at his disposal for Celtic’s clash against Leipzig would be a big boost for Postecoglou, therefore, and he’ll surely be hoping his star defender makes a quick recovery.