Injured defender Lee Wallace a big doubt for Scotland's Euro 2012 qualifying opening fixture

HEARTS left-back Lee Wallace is a doubt for Scotland's Euro 2012 qualifying double-header after failing a late fitness test yesterday. Wallace will report for duty with the national squad as planned today, and will be assessed by medical staff before it is decided whether he should travel to Lithuania for Friday night's opening game.

"He's got a deep-rooted inflammation in his ankle," Hearts manager Jim Jefferies explained after his team's 1-1 draw with Dundee United. "He aggravated it against Elgin. There's no ligament or bone problems. We tried an injection today, put him in the team and hoped it would numb itself in the warm-up so he could go and play. But he came back in and said it wasn't having any effect, so he didn't play.

"We'll have to see how he goes. He's still feeling a bit of discomfort with it."

Jefferies stressed that the nature of the injury would not constitute any longer-term threat to Wallace's fitness if Scotland boss Craig Levein opted to play him. "It'll not cause him any damage. We've assured him of that." Dundee United would lie bottom of the SPL this morning but for Morgaro Gomis's superb late strike at Tynecastle yesterday, and they have a fair way to go before they can approach the heights of last season. Even so, Peter Houston was understandably pleased with the point his team earned from the game against Hearts, especially as it had come at the end of a demanding period for the club.

"We showed great character today and I'm really proud of the players," the Tannadice manager said. "I thought they were magnificent,.

"We've had a tough time recently, and we've had a lot of travelling - I want to be in Europe, so I'm not making that an excuse.

"But I felt that in the second half towards the end there was only one team hanging on. If we had come out this game with nothing I'd be really disappointed - and gutted for the players. I felt if any team was going to score goals in the second half it was Dundee United."

When the goal did come it was Morgaro Gomis, whom Houston had chosen to omit from the starting XI. "He was left out because his form has not been great, but the wee man answered me in the right way. He went like that, 'Get it up you', in the right manner.

"I can't praise the players enough. Today, 48 hours after flying back into Edinburgh after the draw in Athens, I can't ask for more. I'm delighted."

Jefferies accepted United had deserved to take something from the game, but observed that his team might have killed the game off earlier with a second goal. "For an hour we were on top. We deserved to come in (a goal up at half-time] and started the second half reasonably well.

"But then Dundee United went a little bit more direct and were getting us on the back foot a wee bit. I don't think you can legislate for a strike (like Gomis's].It's probably goal-of-the-season stuff.

"Overall I wouldn't deny them their point, I'm just disappointed we couldn't find that second goal. And I think if we'd had the key players who were missing today that maybe would have been enough to see us through it."

The absence of Marius Zaliukas, who has been in Lithuania negotiating a new contract with the club but would have missed the game because of injury anyway, had already forced Jefferies to reshuffle his back four before the loss of Wallace made another change necessary.