Andy Robertson is determined not to let Covid wipe him out of Scotland’s friendly double header.
The Liverpool skipper’s positive test has now been confirmed with Steve Clarke resigned to having to do without his skipper in Thursday's humanitarian fundraiser against Poland.
But coach Steven Naismith has confirmed Robertson hopes to be back with the squad in time to lead the team out against either Austria or Wales next Tuesday night - in the final warm up match ahead of this summer’s World Cup play-offs.
Naismith said: “That has still to be discussed as the week goes on. Obviously for the first game he will be ruled out.
“But the way the rules and the regulations and how he is feeling will determine whether he will be involved for the second game.
“He is the captain, he is the leader. The transition from him coming into the squad and being around the squad to him now becoming a leader has been a fantastic journey.
“I have seen it close hand as a player and now you come and see him and when he is not here the dynamic slightly changes.
“But what he has done in his career in a short period of time and the reason he has had that success is because he is driven, he is humble and he understands that he has a career and that within that career he has a certain time-frame to be as successful as he possibly can be.
“One of the greatest achievements – and I know this from talking to him – will be taking his country to the Euros.
“To then follow that up with getting to a World Cup finals is definitely going to be high on his agenda.
“If he comes up and if he is involved in this camp then what he will bring to the squad with his standards is so important.
‘It also shows you the feeling within the group. They all want to turn up and be part of things and that again has to be the reason for much of the success.”
Thursday night’s game has been billed as a show of support for war ravaged Ukraine - with £10 from every ticket sold going to UNICEF’s efforts to save lives on the ground and help millions of displaced refugees fleeing the conflict.
But Naismith admits Scotland must also keep one eye fixed on a play-off semi-final against the Ukrainians in June.
He said: ”In this day and age the circumstances we find ourselves in are surreal. You wouldn’t expect these things to be happening.
“But from the football side of things the preparation will be what it always is. The manager is very forceful in terms of what he expects and how high he wants the standard to be.
“So there is an element of raising awareness and raising money for Ukraine and an outstanding cause. But we have to focus on the football side as well and that’s important from now until June. It’s about giving the boys a refresher course on what’s expected of them.”
