Fletcher, Cairney in Scots call-off
STEVEN FLETCHER and Tom Cairney last night dropped out of Scotland’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta.
Sheffield Wednesday striker Fletcher was withdrawn in the 74th minute of his team’s 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw away to Burton on Saturday, although Fulham midfielder Cairney played the full 90 minutes of the win at Ipswich.
But he needed an injection to get through the full 90 minutes of Fulham’s 2-0 win over Ipswich.
The midfielder had only just completed his first full week of training after picking up a knee injury earlier in the campaign.
After the match, Cairney hinted he may have to pull out of the Scotland squad.
He said “You could say after a win like that we want a game next week. But with the injuries I’d like to get a couple of weeks training in if I can.”
The pair were among 26 players originally called up by manager Gordon Strachan.
The Scottish FA confirmed the withdrawals on their official twitter account: “SCOTLAND | Squad update: OUT Steven Fletcher Tom Cairney”.
Strachan will now decide whether to replace the pair before Friday’s first game in Vilnius.
Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor is a possible replacement, with his manager Brendan Rodgers last week admitting he was “surprised” he had been omitted from the squad after three goals this season.
Scotland face a battle to qualify for next summer’s tournament in Russia and are currently fourth in Group F.
They play Lithuania in Vilnius on September 1, before returning to Hampden Park to face Malta three days later.