Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers could be ruled out with an Achilles injury until March, manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed.

The USA international played the full 90 minutes for the Hoops in Thursday's 2-1 home victory against Sturm Graz in the Europa League.

However, Carter-Vickers appeared to be hurt in the closing stages of the match and he was seen at full-time down on the pitch holding his leg as he received treatment.

Celtic supporters have since received the disappointing news that Carter-Vickers is facing "between three and five months" in the treatment room.

"He looks like he's done his Achilles, which can be anywhere between three and five months," Rodgers told reporters on Friday. "We're just awaiting confirmation of that, but it's not great news. We'll see where that one goes.

"Cam's been a very important member of the squad, of course, and he's been a great centre-half for the club, but what I always think it does is it opens the door and gives an opportunity to someone else. That opportunity came to Liam Scales, and he's been brilliant in my time here."

How many games will Carter-Vickers miss with Achilles injury?

Carter-Vickers has been a mainstay for Celtic since joining from Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, making 172 appearances across all competitions.

The 27-year-old has featured in 13 of the Hoops 15 matches this season, playing 1,200 minutes which is the fourth-most of all players in Rodgers’s squad, so his absence will comes as a huge blow for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions.

Should Carter-Vickers be sidelined for three months, he would miss a total of 21 Celtic matches across three different competitions, including 15 fixtures in the Scottish Premiership.

The defender could be out for an additional eight games - and potentially more if the Hoops progress into the latter stages of the Europa League and Scottish Cup - if he needs five months to fully recover from his injury.

In the short term, Carter-Vickers will miss Celtic’s top-of-the-table showdown with Premiership leaders Hearts this weekend, as well as the Old Firm derby against rivals Rangers in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park on November 2.

Carter-Vickers is also set to miss each of Celtic’s remaining League Phase fixtures in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland, Feyenoord, Roma, Bologna and FC Utrecht.

Who will replace Carter-Vickers in defence for Celtic?

Fortunately for Celtic, Rodgers is not short of centre-back options, with Liam Scales presumably the first defender on the teamsheet, given that he has already amassed a team-high 1.317 minutes so far this season.

Auston Trusty, Dane Murray, Hayato Inamura and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey are also at Rodgers’s disposal, but none of these four players are standing out as an obvious pick for the Hoops manager.

Trusty played 40 games in all tournaments for Celtic last season, but he has been reduced to just one start and three substitute outings so far this term due to injury, and his fitness issues are a concern.

Twenty-two-year-old Murray lacks senior experience having only played eight times for Celtic since and including his debut back in 2021, including four outings under Rodgers this season.

Inamura was signed by Celtic in the summer from Japanese outfit Albirex Niigata, but he has struggled to make an impression under Rodgers and has made just one appearance all season in a 3-0 top-flight victory over Livingston in August.

The 23-year-old, who was omitted from Celtic’s Europa League squad, has also played just once for the B team since Rodgers stated that the centre-back is "not quite at the level" required to start for his senior side.

Meanwhile, Manchester City loanee Simpson-Pusey, 19, is yet to make a single senior appearance for Celtic and has featured just once for the B team.