Tierney faces six weeks on the sidelines

KIERAN TIERNEY is on course to play for Scotland in the Euros but still faces up to six weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury. The full-back went off injured in the first half of Arsenal’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool on Saturday following a challenge from James Milner. It has now emerged that the 23-year-old former Celtic player sustained ligament damage in the challenge and, despite not requiring surgery, will be out for at least a month. That best-case scenario would see Tierney in contention to play in his club’s four final league matches of the campaign, with a six-week absence putting him on course to return only for the final game at home to Brighton. Scotland then have warm-up matches against Holland and Luxembourg on June 2 and June 6 ahead of their first match in the tournament on June 14 against the Czech Republic. Confirming the damage was not as bad as first feared, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘We have to make sure first that he doesn’t need any surgery, which it doesn’t look like. ‘And if that’s the case the timeframe will be around four-six weeks. ‘It could have been worse because the action looks quite scary but he is feeling better and the damage is not that bad. ‘So at the end of the day it is not the bad news that we could have waited for after the game.’ Asked if he thought he’d be able to select Tierney again this season, Arteta — whose side take on Rangers’ conquerors Slavia Prague in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals this evening — replied: ‘I don’t know. We’re going to have to go day-by-day, see how Kieran is feeling, see how that knee is reacting and how he can get close to play in time and train with the team. ‘Depending on where we are and how he is feeling we’ll make that decision.’ On his likely involvement in Scotland’s first tournament since 1998, Arteta added: ‘Again it will depend how things evolve in the next few weeks. ‘He is so keen to play for us before the end of the season and obviously he is extremely keen to represent his country in the Euros.’ The news will come as a relief to Scotland boss Steve Clarke, who watched Tierney claim three assists in a man-of-the-match display in the 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands last month. ARSENAL v SLAVIA PRAGUE, Emirates Stadium. Kick-off: 8pm. TV: LIVE on BT Sport 1. Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Swe).