Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta says he's unsure whether Kieran Tierney will be fit in time for Scotland's World Cup play-off with Ukraine in June.
The former Celtic left-back has been ruled out for the rest of the English Premier League season after a knee injury picks up in Scots duty last month.
It's a bitter blow for the 24-year-old, who has been tipped as a potential captain at the Emirates amid his excellent domestic form.
He's also been linked with moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid off the back of a consistent run of matches.
Tierney joined Arsenal from Celtic in 2019 and his three seasons down south have been hampered by injury in spells.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke will be desperate for a quick recovery, with play-off matches against Ukraine and potentially Wales this summer deciding whether his team reach the World Cup.
But Arteta, not ruling him out the matches, says it's too early to tell whether that is possible after successful surgery this week.
He said: "It is a little bit ambiguous but he has a significant injury. We'll have to keep assessing him but he will be out for some weeks.
"It's an area where he's had a previous injury and he felt it straight away and he's not fit.
"Our responsibility is to look after them (players) when they're here. Once they go on international duty in this case it's the job and responsibility of Steve Clarke to decide a team he believes is the best to win the games.
"We have to try and have good communication with national teams, we have, but these things happen. He's just had surgery yesterday so it's very early to understand how everything is going to develop.
"If he's going to be out the period we estimate or not, what condition he'll be after that period it's too soon to say something like that.
"I think the player has to do the maximum he can to be in the best possible condition as quickly as possible."
