'I love him, he deserves to be pain free, he's a person': Joe Hart is glad news is out about walking wounded Celtic talisman

There was good news and bad news as Celtic edged a step closer to claiming the domestic treble. The Parkhead side saw off challengers Rangers to move into the Scottish Cup final, where they will face Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but manager Ange Postecoglou then revealed that man of the match Cameron Carter-Vickers will sit out the remainder of the season as he undergoes surgery for a knee injury.

The American defender was immense as Celtic snuffed out Rangers’ threat to see out a 1-0 win, but while goalkeeper Joe Hart praised the performance and the fact that the player of the year contender had powered through the pain barrier, he insisted that there are adequate stand-ins available to complete a success.

“The boys in front of me put in some performance,” said Hart. “They’ve been good at that. We obviously wanted it to be a little simpler and to keep playing our football like we did in the first half but it’s not always as easy as that.

“We’ve known for a while [that Carter-Vickers would have to go under the knife]. But what an exceptional player. What a top player. What a top professional. I love him. I love him. He deserves to be pain free. You do want him back as quickly as possible but he’s a person. He’s not just a great centre-half. He’s a person who’s been gritting his teeth and sticking his boots on for us. As a team and a club, we appreciate that. We’ve had to keep this under wraps. That’s the nature of the game so it’s nice that the manager has been able to say that.”

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart celebrates the win over Rangers.

The hope is that he will now be able to complete his rehabilitation by the start of the new campaign, while his understudies help the side over the line this season. “Cam has been exceptional for us this season and whenever he’s ready, he’s ready,” said Hart. “But Yuki [Kobayashi]i, [Stephen] Welshy are top centre-halves. They’ll be ready to fill his shoes.”

Gaining revenge for last term’s cup exit at the hands of the Ibrox side, Celtic are now on the verge of adding the Premiership title and the Scottish Cup to the League Cup they wrapped up earlier in the season. Hart is not taking the treble for granted but admits that it would be an achievement to savour.

“It’s game by game. I can only speak for myself personally but there aren’t that many I’m going to be playing in,” said the former England international. “I’m not in the middle of my career. I’m not at the start. I’m coming towards the end. I want more. I want everything. I love the fact that I’m still involved. I’d love to think about it. But right now there are way too many important games ahead of us. We’ll see. I hope we can have this conversation after the cup final. I don’t try to savour these days more. I just do. I’ve been lucky to play in a lot of big atmospheres and I do not take that for granted. I love playing under that pressure.”