Ryan Porteous watched his Scotland team-mates gearing up for their summer holidays after Tuesday’s win over Georgia while preparing to start his next campaign the following day.
The defender was due back at Watford for a team meeting and day three of pre-season training hours after helping Scotland to victory in difficult conditions.
The former Hibernian player is happy to get back to England, though, and get to work under new head coach Valerien Ismael, who was appointed on May 10.
“All the boys are jetting off on holiday but I’m back in,” Porteous said. “There will be a big rebuild probably at Watford so I’m looking forward to getting started there.
“I had a holiday before. We finished up on the 10th (of May) so I got away for a couple of weeks.
“Listen, I will be in good shape going back. That’s what you want as a player. Pre-season is hard enough but if you are in good physical state, as you need to be in this day and age, then it will be of benefit to me.”
The defender’s return to club duty might have been delayed at one point as the Euro 2024 qualifier looked in severe doubt because of a waterlogged pitch, with rules stating any abandoned game continues the next day.
Porteous got away from Hampden after midnight but the fans were not far in front of him after a near two-hour delay while water was swept off the pitch following a torrential downpour.
Speaking after a 2-0 win for the Group A leaders, the 24-year-old said: “We wanted the game to go on because there were 50,000 fans there. For them to come to the game, spend all that money on travel and tickets and then go home very disappointed that the game was the next day, wasn’t what we wanted.
“We wanted to play the game. We understand why they (Georgia) wouldn’t because they were 1-0 down, that’s completely understandable, but most of the fans stayed to the end.
“The fans were brilliant, because it was a late night for a lot of kids and working people as well.”
The victory made it four wins from four in Group A, Scotland’s best start to any qualifying campaign, and sent them eight points clear halfway through their schedule.
Porteous said: “It’s exactly where we want to be, but the manager keeps reiterating to us and the press that we have done nothing yet.
“We have put ourselves in a fantastic position but it’s one game at a time that will get us there. We need to stay grounded.
“Four wins probably doesn’t get you there, you have to keep going.”
James suffers hamstring injury ahead of new Premier League season
Reece James has suffered another injury setback ahead of the Premier League season after sustaining a hamstring injury.
The right-back reportedly felt some discomfort during a training session after returning from the club's pre-season tour of the United States, though it is thought to only be a minor issue.
James started all five of Chelsea's pre-season friendlies so far but has already been ruled out of their final preparation game against Inter at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues captain was already set to miss the first three games of the Premier League campaign, having received a second red card in the penultimate match of last season against Brighton, resulting in a four-match ban.
However, his latest injury could rule him out of Chelsea's upcoming Europa Conference League play-offs against Braga or Servette later this month.
It is the latest in a series of setbacks, with James only starting five league games in 2023-24 after having surgery last December.
Kane backs Solanke to succeed at Spurs
Harry Kane has backed Dominic Solanke to succeed at Tottenham after joining from Bournemouth on Saturday.
Solanke signed a six-year contract with Spurs in a record £65million deal and was introduced to the fans ahead of their pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich later in the day.
The striker, who scored 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth last season, has been brought in to fill the centre-forward gap left behind by Kane last year.
And the England captain believes Solanke will fit nicely into Ange Postecoglou's style of play.
"It should be great. Dom's a great player," Kane said.
"He plays with high intensity, high speed. For sure, he's going to get good chances in this team with the way that Ange plays. You saw that here with the way two top teams went at it toe-to-toe.
"I think it's a really good signing. I've just seen him in the dressing room and wished him all the best and I hope he has a great season."
Kane made a brief cameo appearance off the bench for Bayern on Saturday, playing the last 10 minutes as Vincent Kompany's side sealed a 3-2 win.
It was the first time the 31-year-old had returned to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since leaving, and he received a standing ovation from the home fans when coming onto the pitch.
Having left Spurs before the start of last season, Kane was not given a send-off by the club, but he was grateful to get the chance to show his appreciation after the game.
"I had an amazing career at Spurs, so many great memories, and it was great to see the fans again, obviously some of the players, the staff who I've had a lot of relationships with," Kane added.
"The game itself, I probably shouldn't have played, I only had one training session, but it was important for me to play 10 minutes or so, so good to get back out there.
"I didn't get a chance [to say goodbye]. This was a great way to say thank you [to the fans]. The reception I got was amazing; it was great to clap them around the pitch after with them staying behind.
"I will always be thankful to every Spurs fan, the support they've shown me throughout my career has been incredible, and I appreciate me seeing them and them seeing me again."
Napoli club director confirms Osimhen's desire to leave
Napoli club director Giovanni Manna confirmed Victor Osimhen has requested to leave ahead of the new season.
The Nigerian was left out of Napoli's squad for their Coppa Italia first-round clash with Modena on Saturday as Antonio Conte's men drew 0-0 with the Serie B side before edging into the next round 4-3 on penalties thanks to Alex Meret's heroics in the penalty shoot-out.
Osimhen was initially linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, who reportedly pulled out of a potential deal due to his price tag.
However, Chelsea have emerged as a choice for the striker, as the Blues are interested in making a swap deal with him and out-of-favour Romelu Lukaku.
Although no negotiations have emerged just yet, Manna confirmed it is likely that Osimhen will not be donning a Napoli shirt this season.
"Victor Osimhen has asked to leave the club," Manna said. "He wants to go.
"The situation is clear, there were already chances for his exit last summer. Victor wants to leave.
"We will see in the next 20 days."
Meanwhile, Conte was left frustrated by his side's performance in their 0-0 draw with Modena as they just managed to avoid an early upset.
Napoli had 28 shots against Modena, but only six were on target as they created an expected goals (xG) of just 1.37.
They were calling out for a player with Osimhen's goal-scoring ability, and Conte admitted they needed to make a big improvement in the final third ahead of their first Serie A game.
"We have to keep working and we could have given a few more goals to the fans," Conte said after the game.
"There is a lot of work to do on the pitch and also for the club. There are objective things that I don't want to underline.
"Tonight was a nice dose of reality for everyone."
Napoli will kick off their Serie A campaign against Verona next Sunday.
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