Scotland boss Steve Clarke has refused to put a timeline on Andy Robertson’s injury lay-off – but admitted he is unsure if the Liverpool defender will be fit for November’s international fixtures after suffering a serious shoulder injury last week.
Robertson, who has captained the Tartan Army to back-to-back European Championship finals qualification, was substituted at the end of the first half in Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to Spain after landing awkwardly on his shoulder after a coming together with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon.
After later withdrawing from Scotland’s camp on Friday and heading back to Liverpool for a scan on the issue, Robertson is set to miss Saturday’s Merseyside derby against Everton.
Speaking ahead of Scotland’s friendly match against France on Tuesday, Clarke said: “As always with injured players, we send them back to their club; Andy’s gone back to Liverpool. Liverpool will deal with his injury. Obviously it’s a shoulder issue and Liverpool will deal with it.”
Asked if Robertson would be fit for Scotland’s final round of qualifiers against Georgia and Norway in November, Clarke replied: “If he’s fit for next month, it’s great. If he’s not fit for next month then hopefully he’ll be fit as soon as possible for his club.”
If Robertson is unable to overcome his injury in time for the November international break, Liverpool could be without their first-choice left-back for seven games across the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup.
As a result, the 29-year-old would be in a race against the clock to prove his fitness for the Reds’ trip to Manchester City on November 25.
