Scotland national team manager Steve Clarke has reacted to Newcastle United midfielder Elliot Anderson’s withdrawal from the squad.
The 20-year-old received his first call-up to the Scotland senior team for the September 8 match against Cyprus and the September 12 friendlies against England at Hampden Park. However, Anderson withdrew from the team this week following his first training session with his new teammates on the national team because of an injury he sustained on Tuesday.
Anderson has returned to Newcastle ahead of the club’s return to Premier League action against Brentford on September 16 (5:30pm kick-off). Pending a further update, the midfielder is a doubt for the match along with Sven Botman (ankle) and Javier Manquillo (groin).
Anderson has already been spotted back training for Newcastle this week along with Manquillo
The Whitley Bay born midfielder has been subject to a national team ‘tug of war’ between England and Scotland having represented both countries at youth level.
While Anderson accepted the call to play for Scotland at senior level, the door remains open for England to swoop back in while he remains uncapped.
Former Newcastle assistant manager Clarke was asked in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Cyprus whether he had sought any assurances from Anderson that he would remain committed to Scotland.
“No,” Clarke responded. “He just went home.
“Obviously [disappointing not to have Anderson available], that’s why we brought him into the squad. Disappointing to lose Elliot and Liam [Kelly] on the same day but that’s part and parcel of international football, you deal with it.
“Obviously we had to replace Liam because we couldn’t come with two goalkeepers so we brought in young Robby [McCrorie]. who has been part of the squad before, he understands. We didn’t need to replace Elliot because we have enough midfielders.”
When asked if there was any fear of losing a player such as Anderson while his international allegiance is vulnerable to change, Clarke responded: “It is not something I can control. There’s not a lot I can do about it.”
Scotland are on course to qualify for their second consecutive European Championships as they currently top their qualifying group with four wins from their opening four games, including a 2-0 victory over two-time European champions Spain.
