Celtic suffer major injury blow on eve of Rangers clash as duo set to return

Defender ruled out of Old Firm fixture as two players return from long-term injury

Celtic's Cameron Carter-Vickers goes off injured during the Boxing Day win at Dundee. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Celtic have suffered a major blow on the eve of facing Rangers after Cameron Carter-Vickers was ruled out of the Old Firm showdown.

The defender went off during the Boxing Day win over Dundee with a tight hamstring and did not train on Friday. Now manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that the US international will miss the top of the table clash as well as the trip to St Mirren on January 2.

Rodgers said: “He will not be available for the next two games. It’s not longer term, but you probably won’t see him until after the winter break.

"It is (a blow) of course but I always think it’s an opportunity for someone else. We had it in the last game (against Rangers) when Gustaf (Lagerbielke) and Liam Scales came into the team and for Liam it was the making of him.

“It’s always a sadness when you lose a top player but he will be back after this break and can hopefully stay clear of injury for the second half of the season.”

Rodgers will likely turn to Stephen Welsh to fill the void with summer signings Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki nowhere near the first team.

“Stephen played against Feyenoord and played very, very well,” Rodgers said. “I really liked seeing him.

“I brought him with me as a young player when I was here first time round. He was only a kid then and he has really matured. He maybe hasn’t played as much as he would have liked but only because of the form of Cam and Carl Starfelt when he was here.

“That was the challenge for him but he has always been there as a loyal support to play and I know that I can trust him when I put him in. So if he is the guy that gets the chance to play then I have every faith that he can perform.”

On a more positive note for the Parkhead side, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate look set to be included on the bench following lengthy injury absences. Abada last featured for Celtic against Rangers on September 3 before suffering a thigh injury while training with Israel while Hatate has been out for two months with a hamstring problem.

Rodgers added: “They have trained, Liel a little bit longer. We don’t want to rush them but if they come through then they will be involved in the squad. They are excited to be back. I am just mindful of the stage they are at but they have shown up well in training, they want to be involved, and hopefully they have come through with no ill-effects.

“They are both very good performers. Liel is a goalscorer who plays wide. His record goals to games is very good. He just wants to get back on the field again, it’s been a challenging few months for him with injury and everything else. But he looks really good in training and if I need him then I will be happy to do that. And Reo is a big talent so it will be great to have him back.”

Rangers, meanwhile, are set to have several players missing for the Celtic Park clash and are sweating on the fitness of defender Connor Goldson after the defender went off injured in the win over Motherwell on Christmas Eve.