That's according to former SPFL striker Connor Sammon who reckons the defender will be a vital cog in the Hoops' machine now that he's back in action.

The American returned to the fold against Hibs off the bench as he replaced Alistair Johnston in Celtic's 2-1 win over their opponents at Easter Road on Sunday afternoon.

And Sammon believes the defender, 28, can be a strong option at the back again for Martin O'Neill whose backline has been "shaky" at times this term.

"I think it will make a massive difference," Sammon said on BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "The game (Sunday) Celtic did look shaky at the back, they gave up lots of opportunities to Hibs.

"It wasn't for the case of Hibs playing good football. They were obviously very quick thinking for their goal early on but as the game went on you could see they didn't have much of an attacking threat. They didn't create an awful lot, it was down to misplaced passes around the back from Celtic.

"So having Carter-Vickers back in there will be a massive bonus for them. He makes the team better and with Alistair Johnston as well, he would be the icing on the cake for the back four, so to see him go off, hopefully it's not a long-term thing and it's just a niggle he's come back and felt.

"But Carter-Vickers coming back will make Celtic a stronger team going forward."