I feel great considering I've not been fully fit since I was about 14

CARTER-VICKERS TO PUT HIS BODY ON THE LINE

- BY MICHAEL GANNON

IT'S been no pain, no gain for Cameron Carter-Vickers for as long as he can remember.

But the Celtic warrior is ready to grin and bear it again this season as the Hoops set their sights on Five-in-a-Row.

Carter-Vickers was a late arrival to the preseason party after going under the knife to sort out a knee issue and got his first run out in Thursday's friendly defeat to Ajax.

The surgery has done the job and the centre back is determined to get back to work.

The US star has had his injury struggles over the years but is used to playing through the pain barrier.

In fact, he reckons he hasn't been free of any aches since he was a teenager but it won't hold him back.

Humble hero

Carter-Vickers said: "It was nice to be back out there and get 45 minutes under my belt.

"The operation went well at the start of the summer so it's been about recovering from that and coming back strong, getting fit for the games.

"I feel good right now. The surgery I had in the summer kind of sorted out a few things for me.

"It was relatively straightforward. My right knee was just kind of cleaning up some kind of fragments that had come loose, just cleaning that out and then trying to get the knee to settle back down.

"It was sore. There was a bit of stiffness and pain every now and again. But it wasn't too bad.