Cameron Carter-Vickers has only just returned for Celtic, yet he is now away on international duty with the USA.

National boss Gregg Berhalter has called up the central defender for his side’s matches against Germany and Ghana on home soil over the coming eight days. Both matches are friendlies, yet Carter-Vickers has been called upon.

The former Spurs man has appeared in just two fixtures for Celtic since missing seven through injury. He has played the equivalent of one full match during games against Lazio and Kilmarnock.

Prior to that, he had played three halves of competitive football for us this season after missing more than three months due to having knee surgery. Carter-Vickers hadn’t had any real injury worries in Scotland prior to that, but his last few months have been very challenging.

It’s far from ideal to see him away on international duty after just returning — a status that was confirmed on the US Soccer Instagram page. They posted a photo of him in training in Nashville, Tennessee and wrote: “Welcome back, CCV”. (USMNT on Instagram)

The likelihood is that there’s nothing Celtic could have done about this call-up. International sides have all of the power during FIFA windows. Clubs simply have to release their players.

Brendan Rodgers and the medical team may feel it’s good for Carter-Vickers to go away and get some high-level training. It is worth pointing out that he doesn’t actually feature a lot for the US side. He played in just one of their four World Cup clashes. He may not feature much here either.

However, you can’t help but feel that hours in a plane — both to and from America, and between Connecticut and Tennessee — won’t be great for his hamstring and other muscles.

Celtic supporters are set for a nervy fortnight. Let’s hope the big man comes through it well and is ready to rock for us after the break.