Scotland: Brentford’s Aaron Hickey adds to his injury problems in friendly matches

Having already lost Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland until April with a hamstring injury, Heart of Midlothian boss Derek McInnes has also ruled out Craig Gordon for Japan’s visit to Hampden on March 28 and the match against Ivory Coast at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium three days later.

The 43-year-old goalkeeper has missed the Scottish Premiership leaders’ last six matches with a shoulder injury.

John McGinn is also a doubt, although the Aston Villa midfielder said last week that he was two or three weeks away from returning from the knee injury he suffered on January 18 that required surgery and the 31-year-old initially feared for his place at this summer’s World Cup finals.

Fellow midfielder Scott McTominay was injured in Napoli’s win over Genoa on February 7, and although he said last week he had an outside chance of playing against Hellas Verona, he missed a fourth successive match.

However, Billy Gilmour made his second substitute appearance since suffering a thigh injury in November, as the midfielder helped Napoli to a 2-1 win.

Romelu Lukaku held off Scotland striker Kieron Bowie, making his fourth start for the hosts, to score a late winner – their first win this season without McTominay.

McTominay could feature in Friday’s squad at home to Torino, whose 29-year-old team-mate Che Adams could return after missing two matches with a calf strain.

The striker was fit to feature in the 2-0 win over Lazio on Sunday, but did not feature in the matchday squad.

Meanwhile, Derby County right-back Max Johnstone is expected to return in mid-March after missing four months with a hamstring injury, but he may not be ready to play in time for Scotland’s friendlies.

However, defender Ross McCrory returned to the Bristol City side that lost to Watford at the weekend after missing three matches due to concussion.

Midfielder Grant Hanley is expected to return to action this week after missing five matches for Hibernian.

Rangers midfielder Conor Barron, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since early January, is expected to return this month.

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn has at least remained on the bench at Nottingham Forest since recovering from a knee ligament injury in November, but his lack of playing time is another concern for Clarke.