Aaron Hickey major doubt for Scotland as two players ruled out
Andy Robertson and Lyndon Dykes won't be ready to face Poland
Last updated 23rd Mar 2022
Scotland manager Steve Clarke confirmed that both Lyndon Dykes and Andy Robertson will miss Thursday's friendly against Poland at Hampden through injury and Covid respectively.
Teenage left-back Aaron Hickey is unwell and unlikely to be deemed fit enough start the game.
"Aaron woke up feeling a bit unwell (on Wednesday) so we've left him out of training and will see how he is," said Clarke. "Aaron made a really brave decision as a young man to move abroad and he's grown up pretty quickly. He's fitted in with the squad and comes across as a really confident guy and I look forward to seeing him on the pitch.
"I was always thinking with Aaron I'd just let him settle into the squad and see how he goes. We've got two games so it's not a case of rushing him in. I was undecided about that one anyway (starting him against Poland) but the fact he's a bit under the weather probably makes my mind up."
Clarke refused to confirm who will captain the team in the absence of Robertson, with Callum McGregor, John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Grant Hanley and Craig Gordon among an array of possible contenders.
"I haven't decided yet," he said. "I've got so many candidates. I've got loads of captains. It's fantastic, I love it."
Clarke has three new faces in his squad this week in the shape of Hearts defender Craig Halkett, Sunderland forward Ross Stewart and Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey. He has been impressed with the way they have settled into a tight group.
"First and foremost I tell them (the new players) they're in the squad because they've impressed me so they don't need to run around like crazy on the training pitch trying to impress me even more," he said. "They have to come and fit in and feel part of the group, that's a big thing.
"We've spent the last three years trying to build that feeling round the camp. We want the lads to come knowing they're going to have good facilities, good training, good preparation for the matches and also a feelgood factor about mingling with each other and catching up with each other again. That's something we've worked hard at building and we want to keep that going."