CELTIC defender Jack Hendry has answered an SOS from under-pressure Scotland boss Alex McLeish before Saturday’s vital UEFA Nations League ties against Albania and Israel.
The Hoops youngster has been brought in as a late replacement for Aberdeen’s Mikey Devlin – the SIXTH player to withdraw from the injury-stricken squad.
The Dons centre-back has joined Craig Gordon, Stephen O’Donnell, Charlie Mulgrew, Ryan Jack and Kevin McDonald on the sidelines after a series of knocks have depleted McLeish’s pool for the games in Albania on Saturday and the Israelis at Hampden on Tuesday.
Strikers Leigh Griffiths and Steven Naismith couldn’t be considered due to injury setbacks and midfielders Robert Snodgrass and Matt Ritchie asked not to be included to allow them to concentrate on club duties with West Ham and Newcastle respectively.
The Scots got the campaign off to a flyer with a 2-0 win over the Albanians at the national stadium in September, but last month’s 2-1 defeat in Israel has put them under pressure as they head into the last two games.
Six points would secure top spot in League C, Group 1. That would leave McLeish’s men just 180 minutes away from qualifying for Euro 2020 – should they not already make it there through conventional qualifying methods.
