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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gavin Berry

Lyndon Dykes declared fit for Scotland as Steve Clarke is confident of avoiding QPR row

Steve Clarke insists Lyndon Dykes is fit and ready to go for Scotland is confident there will be no comeback from QPR if he plays the striker against Austria.

Skipper Andy Robertson and Dykes have both returned to training with the squad after missing the friendly draw against Poland at Hampden.

QPR striker Dykes has been out for a month with a hamstring injury and Loftus Road boss Mark Warburton cast doubt on whether he would be able to feature in this international break, saying “if he is not fit for us, he is not fit for Scotland."

But ahead of the friendly clash in Vienna, Clarke said: “I haven’t spoken since pre-camp. We discussed the issue before the camp and we were guided by QPR.

“They allowed Lyndon to come up and join us to watch the Poland game and he’s done a couple of training sessions since and is good to go.”

Asked if he was confident there wouldn’t be any fall out, Clarke smiled: “Not from our side.”

Robertson has also been declared fit and Clarke admitted he might rotate the squad with some big club fixtures coming up - including a massive Old Firm showdown on Sunday.

He said: “Looking at the bigger picture and in terms of fairness to the players in the squad more than anything - taking the club issues - it’s a game I’ll probably rotate more than I usually would for the second game of an international break.

“It’s not too bad with the game being on a Tuesday night as they can recover Wednesday and Thursday, train Friday and be ready to go for the weekend - injuries permitting, of course.

“It doesn’t have much riding on it except you’re playing for your country and want to win and we want to continue the run we’re on.

(SNS Group / SFA)

“The key games are in front of us, the completive matches in June are going to be massive for the country and everyone wants to be involved which is great.”

Austria boss Franco Foda will take charge for the last time against Scotland after handing in his resignation.

Clarke said: “It’s always disappointing when you hear a manager has lost his job. Franco has done a good job for his national team, they got to Euro 2020 and pushed Italy all the way in the knockout stage, so he can be proud of the work he’s done.”

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