Ciaran Clark will miss the Euro 2020 playoffs and likely the tournament itself if Ireland qualify and the championships go ahead in June as originally planned.
Ireland's March 26 qualification playoff semi-final in Slovakia is scheduled to be played behind closed doors but looks set to be postponed due to the spread of coronavirus.
Slovakia closed its borders on Thursday and its FA wrote to UEFA demanding that the Bratislava clash with Ireland be postponed.
In the unlikely event that it is played, Newcastle star Clark would be ruled out for selection with an ankle injury.
It also looks unlikely that Euro 2020 will kick off in June as scheduled, but were UEFA to opt to keep Euro 2020 in its current slot, Clark would be expected to miss out.
With the Premier League season in jeopardy, it is also a strong possibility that the 30-year-old could end up missing no football - despite the lengthy injury - as uncertainty continues to reign during the pandemic.
“If Ireland qualify, and the Euros were to start on June 12, then I think it would be unlikely that he could play,” said Bruce. “I couldn’t see that.”
Clark suffered ankle ligament damage against Arsenal last month and has been out of action since.
Premier League ootball has been suspended until April 4 when a further decision will be taken by the FA, Premier League and EFL on whether to resume or remain in shutdown.
Mirror Sport reported yesterday that Euro 2020 is set to be postponed for a year because of the coronavirus and this month’s play-offs could be kicked back to September.
UEFA and the European Clubs’ Association will put forward a plan at a crisis summit to delay the tournament until 2021 to stop football going into meltdown.
