Cameron Carter-Vickers joins Celtic pals in international exile after surprise USA squad omission

Cameron Carter-Vickers has joined Reo Hatate and Kyogo in international exile after being left out of the USA squad.

The Japanese teammates were snubbed by their national team earlier on Wednesday, and Carter-Vickers was omitted from interim coach Anthony Hudson’s pool of players for their CONCACAF Nations League fixtures against El Salvador and Grenada at the end of the month.

After scoring in the 3-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Hearts at Tynecastle last Saturday, Ange Postecoglou described the former Tottenham man as the “best defender in the league,” so his exclusion from the American roster comes as a surprise, especially after being included for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar just three months ago. The upside is that the defender will remain fresh for the title run in, as well as Celtic’s Hampden showdown with Rangers for a place in the Scottish Cup final next month.

Hudson explained that a number of potential call ups were struggling with injury. That doesn't apply to carter-Vickers though, who has only missed a handful of games this season.

"There are a number of guys who are dealing with varying degrees of injury issues” said Hudson. “We’ve spoken with the clubs, and in each case we have worked together to make a decision in the best interest of the player and to do our best to ensure they are available for us this summer."

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