Scotland captain Andy Robertson was so desperate to play for his country’s opening Euro 2020 qualifier that he offered to fly solo to Kazakhstan.
Robertson, who plays for Premier League giants Liverpool, underwent emergency surgery on a painful dental abscess.
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Robertson played for Liverpool on Sunday but is a doubt for Scotland’s upcoming qualifiers
He took a black cab to Heathrow airport following the Reds’ 2-1 victory at Fulham on Sunday, having failed to find a doctor able to operate immediately in London.
The left-back hoped that by flying to his homeland immediately he could go under the knife in Glasgow on Sunday night but Robertson had to wait until Monday morning for an appointment at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
And according to the Daily Mail, the 25-year-old will make himself available for the clash with Group I minnows San Marino in Serravalle.
He even asked Scottish Football Association officials if they could arrange commercial flights – going against medical advice – to enable him to catch up with the squad in time for Thursday’s group opener at Kazakhstan.
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- Germany vs Serbia (Wednesday) – talkSPORT 2
- Kazakhstan vs Scotland (Thursday) – talkSPORT 2
- England vs Czech Republic (Friday) – talkSPORT
- Walsall vs Barnsley (Saturday) – talkSPORT 2
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However, that was ruled out on a combination of medical and bureaucratic grounds.
It is understood he even told friends he had hopes of making it to the Kazakh capital Astana, insisting he would see what kind of pain he was in before resuming his insistence on finding a way of making it.
But after Robertson was told it would not be possible, he then voiced his intention to join the squad in San Marino in time for the match on Sunday.
On Robertson’s absence from the team hotel in Astana, Scotland’s assistant coach Peter Grant said: “It’s a big blow. We were prepared for it obviously, before the game on Sunday we knew he was struggling a little bit but he wanted to play.
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Robertson is desperate to play for his country
“And the way he is, he is still desperate to play and still trying to get himself back out here as well. That’s the way Andy Robertson is, that’s why the manager selected him to be his captain, because he is determined to play for his country.
“He had no choice because he couldn’t fly with it,” the former Celtic midfielder said. “The swelling and the pressure in the air was going to be a problem for him. He went straight from the plane to the hospital and he was hoping he was still going to fly, that’s why we held the plane up a bit. Obviously they wanted him to get an operation done.
“I would hope he would join up for here.
Scotland have a natural replacement at left-back in Kieran Tierney, who missed the Nations League group finale in November through injury.
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Grant said: “The beauty is we have two fantastic players. You are never always going to have everyone fit. But look at the quality you have to come in if he (Tierney) is fully fit.”
Striker Oli McBurnie has recovered from the illness that forced him out of Swansea’s recent games while Callum McGregor reported no ill effects after making his comeback from a calf injury during Celtic’s late victory over Dundee on Sunday.
And Scott McKenna is confident he will face Kazakhstan after Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes raised doubts over the centre-back’s fitness after he played through a thigh problem on Saturday.
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