Brendan Rodgers has said Jack Hendry can be a mainstay in central defence for Scotland and Celtic for a decade or more.

Hendry moved to the Scottish champions in January and has already featured five times for Rodgers side. He received his first Scotland call-up to Alex McLeish's side and made his debut in the 1-0 win over Hungary on Tuesday.

The 22-year old's assured performance came as no surprise to Rodgers, who believes he can excel for club and country in the years to come.

"Jack's obviously come in from Dundee and settled very well," he said. "He has the qualities to play for Celtic and the international team for the next ten years or so.

"His profile suits the highest level. First and foremost, he's quick. He can defend and for me it's very important that you can deal with the ball.

"For a player making his first appearance, away from home on the international stage, I thought he was very composed and looked as if he'd played a lot more games than what he has done.

"He made one critical interception in the game that I'm not sure many Scottish centre halves could make, to get across the ground at speed and block and defend it. I thought he was exceptional in his performance."

Hendry's international progress wasn't the only bright spot for Celtic, with Kristoffer Ajer playing his first two matches for Norway during the break. Rodgers said the youngster had already shown himself to be adaptable and was another who would go on to make a big name for himself.

"The great thing with Jack is that he wants to learn and keep improving and the same is true for Kristoffer Ajer," he said.

"Big Kris came here as a midfield player. We felt he might have a more successful career if he could play from behind. He's 6'5" and quick but he needed to learn how to head it and tactically understand the position.

"For him, at 19 years of age, to come in at Celtic and then play two 90 minute games for Norway, I think he's got a great career ahead of him. He has a real hunger.

"I'm delighted for both those boys who could go away and get those first caps so young."