Scotland: Assistant John Carver sees injuries as ‘opportunity’ but says ‘we might have to suffer’ in Nations League

Scotland’s injury problems are continuing to mount, but assistant boss John Carver says there are players ready to stake their claim.

Angus Gunn has been ruled out of this month’s Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal after the Norwich goalkeeper suffered an injury against Hull.

It is a position that is a headache for manager Steve Clarke but Kilmarnock’s uncapped Robby McCrorie has been given the nod after returning from injury against Dundee at the weekend.

Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie has been called up for the first time to replace Celtic’s Greg Taylor, who misses out with a calf injury.

“I remember when I first came here and we talked about the more caps we get, the more experienced the squad will get,” Carver said.

“I’ll use Ben Doak as an example. Look at him coming into this group and playing against Portugal and Croatia, playing against the top-seeded teams, they will get better from that.

“A young player when he goes into a Premier League football club and he’s training with top-quality players, he gets better.

“Every individual that’s coming in now, because we’re playing against Pot A sides all of the time, these players will improve and get better because if they don’t then they obviously fall by the wayside.”

McKenzie’s inclusion is his first at any Scotland level and Carver says it should be an incentive to others.

“It’s important that young players playing in Scotland realise we’re actually out there watching and they might just get an opportunity.

“It’s not just about them going down the road [to England] or over to Italy, it’s about the local guys and getting an opportunity. They not getting an opportunity because they’re local though, it’s because they’re good enough to be in the group.”

‘We might have to suffer’

Scotland are looking to the upcoming games against Croatia and Portugal to end the longest winless run in the nation’s history.

The team have lost five and drawn three of their last eight competitive fixtures. Including friendlies, that run stands at just one win – against Gibraltar – in 14 matches.

Carver believes the national side “might have to suffer” in a difficult Nations League group but believes there is a bright future as he looks to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

“I think you can see what we’re trying to do,” the assistant boss added.

“There’s a clear identity, how we are going to play in and out of possession.

“We continue with that and you’d like to think results will come.”

Two penalties contributed to a 3-2 defeat to Poland, while Scotland led at the interval before going down 2-1 in Lisbon.

“We can take so much encouragement from our last two performances,” he added.

“Nobody expected us to perform the way we did in Lisbon. We should have got at least a draw.

“People thought we were in for a drubbing but we were in the game. We didn’t sit back, we had a go at them.”

Scotland squad in full

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Jon McCracken (Dundee), Robby McCrorie (Kilmarnock)

Defenders: Nicky Devlin (Aberdeen), Grant Hanley (Norwich), Liam Lindsay (Preston North End), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Jack McKenzie (Aberdeen)

Midfielders: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Ben Doak (Middlesbrough), James Forrest (Celtic), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), Andy Irving (West Ham), Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McTominay (Napoli), Lewis Morgan (New York Red Bulls)

Forwards: Ché Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Birmingham City), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts)

What’s next for Scotland?

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