Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour's return from injury was abruptly cut short on Thursday evening after being shown a straight red card inside 10 minutes.
Gilmour has been sidelined since injuring his knee in the Blues’ pre-season win over Crystal Palace in July, undergoing surgery soon after ahead of a lengthy rehabilitation process.
The 19-year-old, who made 11 appearances for Chelsea last season, was selected by Scot Gemmill for Scotland Under-21s vital qualifier against Croatia, and introduced on the hour mark for his first professional action in over four months.
Frank Lampard will have been frustrated to see Gilmour get just 10 minutes under his belt before being handed his marching orders.
An innocuous-looking shoulder barge on Darko Nejasmic appeared to warrant a yellow card at most, but referee Michael Fabbri had other ideas and brandished a red card, pointing to the sidelines in the process.
Gilmour was seen remonstrating for Fabbri before the card was shown, suggesting the referee upgraded the punishment for possible dissent.
Gemmill told reporters after the game, which ended 2-2: "Billy is a very honest player. He did swear but he didn't mean for it to be in the direction of the referee.
"There's a little bit been lost in translation but we will have to deal with it.
"It's another development step for Billy.
"But the team reacted in the right manner and we've managed to come out with the right result."
