Scotland manager Steve Clarke has explained why Leeds United centre-back Liam Cooper has not been selected for World Cup qualifying.
The national team returns next week as the road to the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 begins. Clarke’s team will play Austria, Israel and Faroe Islands but the Leeds United defender isn’t involved, a regular in Clarke camps. Cooper didn’t play as Marcelo Bielsa’s side drew 0-0 with Chelsea last Saturday.
And he won’t feature for Scotland this month either says Clarke: “He’s just not available for the games. I spoke to Liam, he could maybe have been available for the third game but it’s not going to happen. We had a good chat about it and we decided just to go with the ones that I’ve picked.”
One defender who may appear is Jack Hendry, the defender recalled after impressive form for Belgian outfit Oostende: “I think it’s really important to have him. Obviously Grant Hanley’s back in the squad as well, I had Grant in the squad in November but he had to pull out with an injury.
“Jack’s a player that I’ve known from my time working in Scotland. Obviously he was a great prospect at Dundee, I liked his attributes. He went to Celtic and it didn’t quite work out for him but he’s shown a good maturity and gone away to try and restart his career.
“He came back from Australia where he picked up an injury, then he’s gone out to Belgium, playing at a good level, week in week out. Unfortunately I can only watch him on video, it’s not been possible to get out to Belgium to watch him live.
“Sometimes the best way to pick up a player and find out how he is in the squad is to get him in and have a look in training.”
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