By OkayGoal 
Cameron Carter-Vickers is working his way back to being a key player for reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.
Carter-Vickers has featured in all three of Celtic’s preseason friendlies this summer as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles that sidelined him for the final six months of the 2025-26 campaign. The American defender has made 30 or more appearances in each of his first four seasons in Glasgow before being reduced to only 13 appearances just a season ago.
Carter-Vickers’ defensive teammate Liam Scales has high praise for the veteran centerback as he seeks to get back to his best for Celtic.
“Yes, it’s brilliant,” Scales said in an interview with the Daily Record about Carter-Vickers returning to the field. “He’s really just a top player and he looks sharp and looks fit. He’s a great defender. I’d say he’s the best centre-half in the league. He’s just top-level, so it’s great to have him back. We definitely missed him last season.
“He’s a leader on the pitch,” Scales added. “He’s not the loudest, but the way he plays..he leads by example. He has certain attributes. Obviously, his physical presence is massive, and maybe we did miss that at times.”
Carter-Vickers absence during the second half of the season forced fellow American defender Auston Trusty to take his spot in Martin O’Neill’s squad. Trusty, 27, played in 41 matches for Celtic in all competitions, scoring two goals and helping the Hoops complete a domestic double after a worrying start to the campaign.
However, with Carter-Vickers back available, it will be interesting to see how O’Neill balances him, Trusty, and Scales’ playing time with multiple competitions approaching.
Scales, who has been with Carter-Vickers since his original arrival on loan in 2021, admitted that the duo have formed a strong partnership on the field by their relationship off of it.
“We do loads outside of training,” Scales said. “We’re good pals when we’re together. We spend a lot of time together in the training ground. We speak a lot about the football, about life outside as well…we’re very close.
“I think it comes with playing together as well,” he added. “When you’re playing together, you do speak a lot about what’s going on the pitch and what you need from each other. That leads to spending more time together, and you build a relationship that way. We’ve spent the majority of five years playing together or in the same dressing room. So we’ve had a lot of time to build that connection.”
Carter-Vickers and Scales will now seek to get through Celtic’s final tuneup unscathed as AC Milan visits Celtic Park on Saturday before Premiership play gets underway on August 3.