Celtic’s Carter-Vickers ‘just wants to get back to playing football’ after long-term injury

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers says he “just wants to get back to playing football” after returning from a long-term injury.

The 28-year-old missed the majority of Celtic’s double-winning season in 2025-26 after suffering a ruptured Achilles in October.

Carter-Vickers has won five Scottish Premiership titles since joining Celtic ahead of the 2021-22 season, but was unable to take part in their remarkable turnaround under Martin O’Neill.

Celtic won the league title on the final day with a dramatic 3-1 win over Hearts, while they defeated Dunfermline by the same scoreline in the Scottish Cup final.

Carter-Vickers finally made his return during Celtic’s pre-season friendly with Shelbourne, playing the first half before being replaced at the break, and is delighted to be back with the team.

“I’m good, and I’m just happy to be back with the team and out here in pre-season,” Carter-Vickers told CelticPlayer.

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 7, 2026

“Being out was frustrating, especially a season like last season where it was a battle for us.

“At first, I thought I had cramp in my calf. When the physios saw it, they said it was a rupture in the Achilles. At that point you know it’s going to be a long-term injury.

“I just want to get back to playing football, really. I trained the last couple of weeks of the season last season, but obviously they were fairly light just due to where we were in the season.

“So it’s been good this last couple of weeks to get back to playing football. For me, it’s just about doing that, really, and trying to get as sharp as possible.

“You can do as much running and fitness work as you want individually, but it doesn’t compare to playing football, just getting back in the rhythm of that.”

Celtic will also face Sporting CP, Middlesbrough and AC Milan in pre-season before their 2026-27 league campaign starts on August 3 against Dundee FC.

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