Steve Clarke is braced for a major blow with Ryan Fraser set to pull out of Scotland’s Euro showdown with Serbia.
The Newcastle United ace sat out his side's Premier League clash with Southampton with a hamstring problem and is expected to withdraw from national duty.
It’s a sore one for Clarke as he gears up for the country’s biggest clash in a generation with the Serbs standing in Scotland’s path for a place at next summer’s Euro Championships.
Fraser made a spectacular return to the squad in last month’s international break with a man of the match display in the win against Slovakia before grabbing the winner in the 1-0 victory over Czech Republic.
The former Aberdeen star was firmly in Clarke’s plans for Serbia as the Scotland gaffer bids to end the nation’s 23-year wait to return to a major tournament.
Clarke is facing an anxious weekend with his squad involved in fixtures all over the UK and he’s desperate to avoid a repeat of last month’s stress of several key men being forced to miss out.
Scotland managed to overcome Israel in the play-off semi-final showdown without Kieran Tierney, Ryan Christie and Stuart Armstong due to covid concerns while Scott McKenna, Liam Palmer, James Forrest and Oliver Burke were all crocked.
