Cameron Carter-Vickers latest opens door to rarely-seen Celtic player getting starting role
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ latest injury blow could mean Brendan Rodgers sees fit to give one of his lesser-spotted young talents his Celtic debut in the coming weeks.
Celtic emerged 2-1 victors over Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday (23 October) night, but their win did not come without some major setbacks and concerns.
Star striker Kelechi Iheanacho went off through injury inside the first four minutes, while the returning Alistair Johnston felt his hamstring go again at Parkhead and so was also substituted in the first-half.
Goals from Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren saw Brendan Rodgers‘ side earn three points despite falling behind to Toni Horvat’s wonderstrike, but the injury concerns continued beyond the final whistle.
Cameron Carter-Vickers was seen on the floor in pain at full-time, and Rodgers’ later confirmation of a long-term problem for the centre-back could see him utilise a youngster who has struggled to make an impression in Glasgow so far.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey could finally play for Celtic due to Carter-Vickers’ injury
Rodgers confirmed a long-term injury to Carter-Vickers to Sky Sports on Friday (24 October), saying: “He looks like he has done his Achilles, which could be anywhere between three and five months.
“So we just await confirmation of that. It’s not great news, but we will see where that one goes. Cameron has been a very important member of the squad, of course, and a great centre-half for the club.
“What I always think it does is opens up an opportunity for someone else. That opportunity came to Liam Scales and he has been brilliant in my time here, and you seen his performance last night (vs Sturm Graz) and he was so good – and it will open the door for someone else to come in and look to perform.”
The Northern Irishman will be forced to utilise another centre-back for the majority of the rest of the campaign if the USA international’s recovery takes up the full extent of its potential time-frame, and the issue could open the door for forgotten man Jahmai Simpson-Pusey to take full advantage.
Centre-back Simpson-Pusey joined Celtic on loan from Man City in the recent summer window after he had broken into Pep Guardiola’s first-team to feature five times in all competitions last season.
There was a buzz around his arrival, as a highly-rated 19-year-old prospect who promised to impress with the Glasgow giants this season, but things have certainly not gone to plan at all so far.
The Citizens loanee has failed to make a single appearance for the Hoops’ senior side as yet, with fans effectively left in the dark around his progress and whether he will even be picked to play in the first-team while at the club.
He has been left out of their Europa League squad, yet Rodgers admitted last month that he has been “really pleased with his development” and “he’ll be ready” when the chance comes to stake a claim.
Now is as good a chance as ever with Carter-Vickers out of the picture, and with the likes of Auston Trusty and Dane Murray each also struggling for recent game-time due to the strong partnership of the former Tottenham man and Scales at the back.
Celtic have brought Simpson-Pusey in from City to help to develop him as a player and also aid their own title hopes, which are not as concrete as they once were given Hearts’ impressive start to the season.
Even though he is yet to play and cannot feature in European games, Rodgers needs to think about handing the 19-year-old his debut very soon simply to see if he can handle the pressure of regularly playing for a club with such big expectations.
What Rodgers and Pep Guardiola have said about Simpson-Pusey
Upon the youngster’s arrival at Celtic, Rodgers gave a glowing review of his talents and what he expected of him at the club this season.
He said: “(He is) a very gifted young player. Obviously, coming through the system there at Manchester City, his profile fits very much what we want from our centre-halves.
“He’s quick, he’s dominant, he’s a good defender and of course, at Celtic, your centre-halves need to be able to progress the ball and that’s a big strength of his.
“So we’ve taken him on loan for a year. We always need all our centre-halves at Celtic. We play so many games, so many intense games and he’ll join our squad.
“He’s obviously a little bit behind because he hasn’t played so many games over the course of pre-season but we’ve brought him through for the rest of the season.”
City boss Guardiola was effectively forced to give Simpson-Pusey some senior game-time last season amid a huge defensive injury crisis in his squad.
He praised the England youth international following a fine showing against Brighton in the Premier League, saying: “The guy [Simpson-Pusey] played really good. With this composure and duels and everything was good. It’s not easy for him.
“Normally the young lads must come in with support from the team… now he’s playing in a position that is difficult for him but he performed unbelievable.”
“We have a central defender to help us for the future, for the next years. I’m really pleased.”
If Guardiola rates him that highly, then it is a real mystery as to why he has not been able to force his way into the Celtic squad as yet, and the time is surely right for him to feature very soon.