Four drop out of Scotland squad to face Argentina

Published on Sunday 16 November 2008 21:56

SCOTLAND were last night hit by three more injury withdrawals for Wednesday night's friendly against Argentina.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher had been ruled out with a knee injury picked up in his club's 5-0 win over Stoke at Old Trafford on Saturday, and he has now been joined by strikers Kenny Miller of Rangers and Steven Fletcher of Hibs, along with Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

There are also concerns over West Bromwich midfielder James Morrison and Cardiff City striker Ross McCormack.

Steven Fletcher has a niggling ankle injury, while Miller also withdrew from the squad for last month's World Cup stalemate against Norway, citing a hamstring strain which has dogged him since September's qualifying match in Macedonia.

Gordon, who has been manager George Burley's first-choice since he took charge at the start of the year, has not played for his club for almost a month due to a chipped ankle bone.

Morrison limped out of West Brom's 3-0 Barclays Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Saturday with a knee injury shortly before the hour mark, while McCormack has been out of action for Cardiff for a fortnight with a hamstring problem.

After scoring his team's last- minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Aberdeen at Easter Road, Fletcher expressed doubts about whether or not he'd be fit enough to build on his appearance as a substitute in the World Cup qualifying tie against Norway.

Allan McGregor is likely to replace Gordon, who has missed his club's past six games.

While Darren Fletcher would have expected to start the match against the South Americans, it remains to be seen if Barry Ferguson, newly returned from injury, will be risked.

Burley planned to speak to both the player and his manager, Walter Smith, before deciding how many minutes, if any, the captain should play.