Scotland boss Steve Clarke sends message to injured Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet

Steve Clarke remains hopeful that Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet can be part of his squad for the 202 World Cup as he urged the 24-year-old to keep himself in good shape as he recovers from an ACL injury.

Kevin Nisbet in action for Scotland in a friendly against Luxembourg as Steve Clarke watches on

Nisbet has been capped ten times, scoring once, but his long-term lay-off ruled him out of selection for the international break later this month.

In a Scottish FA video interview discussing his team selection, Clarke spoke about the Easter Road hitman being sidelined along with defensive duo Liam Cooper and John Souttar.

"I think I’ve shown that I’m quite loyal to my squad and the players I do pick. Liam picked up a nasty hamstring injury and had a wee setback on his way back from that.

"Kevin’s picked up a really serious injury, something that could be between six to nine months. Hopefully we make the World Cup finals in December but he’s got the incentive to keep himself fit and in good shape, and do his rehab properly and hopefully get back involved with the squad.

"John, who played and scored against Denmark, has picked up an ankle injury which, thankfully, is not too serious and he should be back in a couple of weeks."

Scotland are due to play two friendly matches against Poland, and Austria or Wales later this month after the scheduled World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine was postponed, but Clarke has resisted the temptation to shuffle his squad and bring in new faces, and is keen for the Scots to build on their six-game winning run.

"We are getting good experience. I think maybe when there's a couple of friendlies, the general public want you to make five, six, seven changes and get a lot of people in.

"My thinking on this camp was to work on one or two things, to get together after four months - it's a long time we haven't been together.

"It's important to get the bulk of the squad together, work on what we are good at, and try and prepare as best we can for the June games."

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