Steve Clarke didn’t go into detail on the injury suffered by former Celtic favourite Kieran Tierney in the build-up to Scotland’s opening Euro 2020 fixture against the Czech Republic.
Tierney missed out on the huge Hampden clash. It was a bitter blow to Scotland’s ambitions, and the national team would go on to lose 2-0 against the Czechs.
When the team was announced, there were serious concerns Tierney’s injury could mean he misses the rest of the tournament.
However, Clarke has insisted he has a chance of playing against England at Wembley on Friday night.
The Scotland boss told BBC One pre-match [13:50]: “Kieran picked up a little niggle through the week in training, so he’s not ready for this one but hopefully ready for the next one.”
After the game, he was again questioned on the issue by BBC Radio Scotland.
Clarke told the broadcaster [16:29]: “I’m hopeful. I wouldn’t be getting over-excited about it. He’s been an integral part of how we’ve played recently. We’ve missed Kieran.”
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There’ll be a nervous wait after Kieran Tierney injury latest
Not exactly confirmation he’ll be lining up for the Scots this week, but at least he hasn’t been immediately ruled out.
The news is better for Arsenal supporters than Scotland fans. It at least looks like the defender won’t be out of action long-term.
I was gutted when Tierney wasn’t in the starting lineup today. Not only is he Scotland’s most important player, I just wanted to see him play at a major tournament.
I’m still a big fan of the 24-year-old despite his Celtic exit, as you can probably tell from our articles, and it was a real shame he missed out on the biggest Scotland game in decades.
Hopefully, he can still play a massive part for his country against England and Croatia in Group D.