SEVERAL Celtic stars will return to club action against Kilmarnock on Sunday after playing for their national team over the last week or so.
But there are a number of Celtic players who were NOT selected to represent their country in the international break, including defensive duo Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty.
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The two Americans stayed in Glasgow as Maurichio Pocchetino didn’t include them in his 24-man squad for their September camp, where they faced Japan and South Korea.
Wantaway Celtic fan favourite Daizen Maeda was involved in the friendly between Japan and USA, but he was the sole representative as both Carter-Vickers and Trusty were left in Glasgow.
Former Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Carter-Vickers was overlooked, while Trusty missed out through injury.
Aside from the injury to his team-mate, Carter-Vickers was the more likely call up either way as he’s at least played 90 minutes under Pochettino since he was appointed manager 12 months ago.
Trusty, meanwhile, has played just 10 minutes in the same time frame and has only been capped four times in total, compared to his team-mate’s tally of 19.
Carter-Vickers was in the squad when USA qualified for the 2022 World Cup but has struggled for minutes in his national team as of late.
And former USA international Herculez Gomez – who featured in the 2010 World Cup squad – has called out Pochettino for leaving the reliable Celtic defender out for the most recent fixtures.
He even criticised the manager’s treatment of fellow Hoops ace Trusty, blasting the fact that skipper Tim Ream, 37, still gets called up.
Speaking on the Men in Blazers Youtube Channel, he said: “He (Carter-Vickers) has World Cup experience. But this pool, when it comes to centre-backs, I kind of feel like it’s the nine position, nobody is taking a hold of it.
“Tim Ream is 178 years old, and still playing. But you look at the pool, and there are some players, much like Aidan Morris, who haven’t had their opportunity, and Auston Trusty. He’s not getting an opportunity.
“This is why you are seeing a Tristan Blackmon at 29 or 30 years of age making his debut for the US Men’s national team.
“So, I don’t know much stock Mauricio Pochettino is going to put into, ‘he (Carter-Vickers) has already been at the World Cup.
“He can help me out because he has the experience.’ He’s a filer, for me. He has got half of a foot in, and half of a foot out.”
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