Scotland's Euro 2008 qualification momentum has been interrupted by an untimely spate of injuries and suspensions ahead of Wednesday's penultimate Group B encounter in Georgia.
Alex McLeish's worst fears were confirmed when Scott Brown and Alan Hutton were forced to withdraw from the squad that flew out to Tbilisi this morning. Scotland's numbers were beefed-up late last night by the inclusion of Graeme Murty, the Reading captain, and Darren Fletcher, the Manchester United midfielder, whose return from a knee injury has been approved by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Brown was unable to recover from the hamstring injury sustained during the second half of Scotland's clinical 3-1 win against Ukraine at Hampden Park on Saturday and is now also a doubt for Celtic ahead of the first Old Firm derby of the season. The same status applies to Hutton, the Rangers full-back, who damaged a calf muscle at the weekend.
They left the Scotland training camp yesterday along with Lee McCulloch and Garry O'Connor, who are both suspended after receiving cautions against Ukraine.
To add to the edginess in Georgia, Barry Ferguson and Gary Naysmith are both one booking away from missing the decisive fixture of the campaign, against Italy at Hampden Park on November 17.
As McLeish made his contingencies, he refused to allow the depletion of his ranks to overshadow Saturday's thrilling win, one that eliminated Oleh Blokhin's side from qualification. He also confirmed Fletcher is an almost certain starter despite not having played a competitive match since being injured during the first half of Scotland's 1-0 win against France in the Parc des Princes.
"We are a small nation and you can see what can happen if we pick up a couple of injuries and suspensions," said McLeish.
"Scott played with such an intensity and when you are fatigued, that's what can happen. It was another terrific performance from him but it is a shame to lose him for Georgia.
"It's a challenge to the lads who now have to come in. Darren has a good chance of starting. He is available for Manchester United on Saturday, so he is fit. He has had a full pre-season and played regularly before his injury, so sharpness is not an issue.
"We really don't have much choice. We have some rookies and it might not be fair to just throw them in blind."
Amid the squad's casualties, Christian Dailly's international career is poised for a late revival. The 36-year-old, on loan at Southampton from West Ham United, replaced Brown on Saturday and, owing to the loss of Paul Hartley, has suddenly emerged as the leading contender for the holding midfield role behind Ferguson and Fletcher.
Dailly and David Weir are the only survivors of Scotland's last major championship finals, the World Cup in France nine years ago, and the pair are key figures in the nation's quest to reach Austria and Switzerland.
"Christian Dailly has come in before," said McLeish. "He did well for us when he came on and if we need to look at that holding position for Georgia he is in pole position.
"We also had to look at strengthening the full back positions because I don't want to leave anything to chance. The problem is that clubs give players time off at international week. We have called up Christian from a beach in Portugal before but some people go to the States now."
Georgia lost 2-0 in Italy on Saturday night but McLeish refuses to take three points for granted against one of the group also-rans. Klaus Toppmoller, their German manager, has lost Shota Arveladze through retirement and Kakha Kaladze through injury but McLeish's experienced scout, Alex Smith, has noted Georgia's troublesome qualities even in defeat.
Scotland require four points from their remaining matches to qualify automatically for the finals next summer and McLeish has no preference in the order the magic number is obtained.
"It's in our hands as much as it is in France's and Italy's hands," he said. "Yes, we are in a strong position but we can throw it away as much as the World Cup finalists can.
"I never went in to the game thinking we couldn't win but I felt I had to keep the nation calm during the build-up. We cannot go all-out attack against Georgia but we will use a similar strategy to our other away games. It would be disrespectful of me to say beat Georgia and then all we need is a point against Italy, Georgia would love to read those headlines.
"Alex Smith has seen all their games and believes they did not get what they deserved in most of them. We are growing in resilience with every game and every good performance reinforces belief. Throughout this qualification campaign they have grown: they have overcome setbacks, injuries, defeats and, against Ukraine, a couple of penalty claims that did not go for us."
James McFadden will again be an essential component in Scotland's pursuit of three more precious points. "We have a few warhorses but it is nice to have an ace in the pack," said McLeish.
"The goals we scored on Saturday were beautiful to watch but I couldn't care if we get one off someone's arse on Wednesday. I have never been involved in anything as tough as this in my puff."
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