Cameron Carter-Vickers has been shut down for the remainder of the season, according to Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou, although it’s unclear whether it will impact his availability for upcoming USMNT games.
For the second straight season, the American central defender has been one of the Hoops standout players, starting 29 of their 33 league games, and helping them secure a likely haul of three domestic trophies.
After Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal victory over arch-rivals Rangers pushed the team through to a final matchup against second-tier Inverness, the Celtic coach confirmed that it would be the last that fans would see of the 25 year-old this season.
“That’s Cameron Carter-Vickers’ last game of the year,” Postecoglou confirmed. “He’s been carrying an injury for I don’t know how long. We’ll put him out the pasture for a little bit now and get what he needs to get done.”
He went on to explain that it was the player who pushed to play in the game, joking that intimidation played a role.
“He wanted to play today. I was sort of trying to push for him to have it done a bit earlier, but I’m scared of him, so I let him do what he wants,” the Australian chuckled.
“He was keen on playing today and he put in a good performance that befits his standing at our football club.”
While the injury was not serious enough to impact the the USMNT defender’s playing time lately – he was only held out of one game during the last three months – rumors in the press that his injury is a slight knee problem that could require minor surgery will create some concern about his availability for the busy national team schedule in the summer.
The Americans will play Mexico in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Nations League in mid-June, with the team’s Gold Cup group-stage games beginning six days after final and third-place game.
Even though he does only have 12 caps so far with the national team, one of which was an eye-opening performing in last year’s World Cup, Carter-Vickers could be set for a larger role this summer due to the uncertain status of Tim Ream following his broken arm.
The seemingly minor nature of his injury could be an encouraging sign, as the roster announcement for the two competitions is still likely more than a month away, and more than six weeks still remain until the USMNT kicks off against Mexico in Las Vegas.
