Celtic dealt major injury blow as Cameron Carter-Vickers misses training ahead of Rangers clash

Cameron Carter-Vickers' involvement in Saturday's Old Firm derby against Rangers looks in serious doubt after the defender was absent from Celtic training on Friday morning.

The USA international was substituted in the 3-0 Boxing Day win over Dundee at Dens Park with a hamstring problem. Manager Brendan Rodgers was "hopeful" the injury was nothing serious, but the centre-back now appears to be a major doubt to face the Ibrox side.

The 25-year-old was missing from the Hoops' training session at Lennoxtown alongside his team mates, but returning midfielder Reo Hatate and winger Liel Abada were both fully involved and integrated back into the first-team fold as Rodgers received a welcome fitness boost.

It's unlikely the latter will play any part against Rangers as he steps up his recovery from a long-term thigh injury. However, Hatate could feature at some stage after shaking off a hamstring issue sustained in late-October.

On Carter-Vickers injury, Rodgers had initially stated: "Thankfully his hamstring hasn't gone, but he just felt a little bit tight. We've said to him before that if he feels anything, it's better letting us know. So he just started to tighten up a little bit, we were able to take him off, and Stephen Welsh comes in and was excellent." The medical team will assess him and see where we're at in the coming days."