Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the Scotland squad for the friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland as Norwich strive to get the defender back to full fitness.
The 26-year-old has made nine appearances for the Canaries since returning on Boxing Day after eight months out with an Achilles injury.
However, Hanley has missed his club’s last two matches in the Championship after limping out of their defeat at Middlesbrough earlier this month.
It was confirmed by the Scottish Football Association on Tuesday morning that Hanley will not feature in Scotland’s upcoming friendly double-header, meaning he will not have played for the national team for more than a year by the time Steve Clarke selects his squad for the European Championships.
Norwich manager David Wagner said after Saturday’s win at Stoke that, after conversations with Hanley and the club’s fitness and medical staff, they had agreed to “pull him out of team training because he is not as explosive and as sharp as he was when he was on his best.”
“He is a very physical centre-half,” added Wagner. “If he is physically on his best then he is one of the best, or the best, in the division. We have to make sure, and he feels the same, to get him back to that level.
“So we now pull him out of team training and we give him a proper individual programme in the next couple of weeks, or how long it will take, to get back to that level.
“Obviously, we all together know it was a very serious injury and it takes time, even if we are happy that his Achilles is fine. But we have to get him back to the explosive, sharp Grant Hanley he was before his injury.”
It remains to be seen if Scotland will call up a replacement centre-back for Hanley, who won the last of his 48 caps in the home win over Spain a year ago.
Ronaldo's 900 goals 'an inspiration for football' – Martinez
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez sees Cristiano Ronaldo's "incredible" achievement of 900 career goals as an "inspiration for football".
Ronaldo netted his landmark goal on Thursday, scoring Portugal's winner in a 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.
The 39-year-old was already the leading goalscorer in the history of the game.
And Martinez feels nobody can put a limit on what Ronaldo is still able to achieve.
"I don't think scoring 900 goals is easy. It's a historic achievement, incredible, an inspiration for football," Martinez said ahead of Portugal's clash with Scotland.
"I don't think anyone can say that Cristiano can't do something. It's incredible what he's achieving, what he's doing in football.
"For us, the goal is collective. That he helps the national team."
Scotland lost 3-2 at home to Poland in their Nations League opener, but Martinez is expecting a fierce test on Sunday.
"Our players know the intensity of British football. Scotland have that. A lot of intensity, fast attacks, experience. We know the difference, but Scotland are objective, vertical, but have the quality to keep the ball," Martinez said.
"The last two games have shown that they want to win. They've lost their last few games after the 90th minute, they're objective, they've got top-class players. They're experienced and talented.
"It's not just a British team, a physical team, but a team with lots of skills and the game will be very competitive. We've prepared for that."
Leon Bailey's injury update emerges with surgery a possibility
Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey could be ruled out for over 10 weeks due to a hamstring injury picked up recently.
This according to injury expert Dr. Rajpal Brar, who explained the best and worst-case scenarios for the Jamaican international, as he pointed out that surgery could also be on the cards.
Manager Unai Emery was reluctant to put a timeline on Bailey’s return, and Dr. Brar, a physical therapist and sports scientist, agreed as he explained that the 27-year-old’s return will be determined based on the extent of the injury.
“His return timeline remains TBD, so that leads me to believe it’s not just a low Grade 0 or 1 injury, which would be the best-case scenario. The worst case would be a Grade 4 hamstring rupture, which means over 10 weeks out depending on if surgery is needed or not, and that possibility cannot be ruled out yet,” Dr. Brar told Villa News.
“One confounding variable with Bailey is that he’s a high-pace player, which puts more stress on the hamstrings, so you have to make sure he can handle those demands before being reintroduced,” he added.
Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg: Maanum strike ensures Champions League progression
Frida Maanum's first-half strike ensured Arsenal progressed to the second round of Women's Champions League qualifying after a 1-0 win over Rosenborg.
Maanum netted the only goal of the game in the 19th minute after Caitlin Foord saw her cross spilled by Rugile Rulyte, with Maanum on hand to finish from close range.
The Gunners could have made the encounter more comfortable as Alessia Russo's header came back off the crossbar to conclude a dominant first half.
Arsenal struck the woodwork a further two times after the interval, through Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross, with Leah Williamson also seeing her header cleared off the line.
But Jonas Eidevall's side were able to restrict their opponents to very little, with the hosts ending the contest with 30 shots, though only five of those were on target.
Arsenal go through to the next stage of the next stage of the competition, which is a knockout tie played across two legs.
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