Scotland boss Steve Clarke has defended Oli McBurnie for playing in a pre-season friendly for Sheffield United.
The striker played for 45 minutes for the Blades against Derby County and it angered many Scotland fans on social media after he pulled out of the Scotland squad.
But his international manager insists it was partly his decision for him to stay at Sheffield United and build his fitness because the step up to international level would be too much.
Chris Wilder had said similar following his side's 2-0 win but now Clarke has backed it up and insists there's a huge difference between pre-season and top level games.
He said: "I spoke to Chris Wilder at the end of last week and he told me Oli hadn’t been training because he had a laceration in his foot that had become infected and that he wouldn’t be fit enough to play at international level.
"Chris is one of the most honest men in football and we had a good discussion about where Oli was at. People have to remember there’s a world of difference between getting some minutes in a pre-season friendly and preparing for an international double header.
"After discussions with the medical team and the sports science team it made sense for everyone for Oli to stay at Sheffield and work on his fitness."
