Scots' Caldwell out injured
England will find it hard to replace Gary Caldwell
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Thursday, 11, Oct 2007 08:49
Scotland will have to do without the services of Gary Caldwell for their vital Euro 2008 qualifiers against Ukraine and Georgia after the defender pulled out of the squad due to a knee injury.
The Celtic star picked up the injury in his team's 2-1 win over Gretna last weekend and a scan today ruled him out of the games.
Caldwell's injury is another unwanted headache for Scotland manager Alex McLeish who is already without several key players. Midfielders Darren Fletcher and Paul Hartley, and defender Steven Pressley are already out injured.
"There won't be anyone added to the squad at this stage because the manager picked 24 players to start with," said McLeish's assistant Roy Aitken.
"Obviously, Paul Hartley is out but that still leaves an outfield squad of 19 plus three goalkeepers so it's still fairly strong."
McLeish said he faces a tough decision when deciding who should replace Caldwell.
"We brought Christian Dailly back with these kind of things in mind. I told him he was cover, but that he also had a chance of playing if we had injuries," he said.
"Stephen Pearson did well for us in France when he came on and Barry Robson has been in good form for Dundee United, so they are in the frame for a midfield slot," added McLeish.
Scotland currently lead Euro 2008 qualifying Group B ahead of world champions Italy and France.
The Scots have so far had a brilliant qualifying campaign, with the highlight being home and away victories over France. Caldwell scored the winner in the game at Hampden Park.