Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:32 am
Scotland 'to lose' Ryan Fraser and Callum Paterson for Kazakhstan clash due to plastic pitch
Daily Record
Wednesday 13th March 2019
Alex McLeish has been dealt a further blow with Ryan Fraser and Callum Paterson set to sit out of the clash with Kazakhstan.
The first of Scotland's European Championship qualifiers will take place on the artificial surface of the Astana Arena next Thursday.
And Bournemouth and Cardiff want their key men to sit out of the game and protect themselves after both suffering serious knee injuries in the past, according to the Scottish Daily Mail.
It's another disappointment for Scotland boss McLeish after Allan McGregor decided to retire from international duty on Monday.
Fraser suffered cruciate ligament damage in 2015 while Paterson missed nine months with a torn ACL.
But both will be available for the match against San Marino three days later.
McLeish will hand call ups to Sheffield Wednesday defender Liam Palmer and Celtic loanee Oliver Burke.
Palmer was born in Worksop and qualifies for Scotland through his late grandmother, who was from Carluke in South Lanarkshire. He has made more than 200 appearances for Wednesday.
Scotland have not had a wealth of options at right-back in recent seasons. Kilmarnock's Stephen O'Donnell has played there recently, as has Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney.
Burke hasn't played for Scotland in two years but has impressed since making a January switch to Glasgow from West Brom.