Scotland boss Steve Clarke has confirmed that Kieran Tierney is “fit and available” for their Euro 2020 clash with England.
Tierney was forced to miss Scotland’s Group D opener against the Czech Republic after picking up a knock in training.
The Arsenal defender saw his country suffer a damaging 2-0 loss in his absence, but Clarke is ready to welcome him back into the fold for their vital meeting with the Three Lions at Wembley on Friday.
Asked for an update on Tierney’s condition at a pre-match press conference, the Scotland head coach told reporters: “Everybody fit and available, including Kieran.
“It’s good news for Kieran, it’s good news for us, it’s good news for the Scottish supporters, so hopefully we can back all that up with a good result.
“He’s trained fully the last two days, so he’s available for the whole game.”
Tierney has also spoken to the media ahead of the game, revealing his frustrations over missing Scotland’s first major tournament fixture since 1998, while also admitting that he had to be smart with his recovery if he was to have any chance of featuring against England.
“I was gutted, I was so down,” said the 24-year-old. “I stayed back and did rehab work. I was just so flat that day. I stayed back here trying to get fit for Friday and it was the longest day. It was a horrible day.
“Watching the anthem was amazing but what I was feeling inside was terrible. I wanted to be there so much. I wanted to help the boys out, wanted them to do so well and not being able to help was hard to take. I was just in my room. I had to do rehab all day and took an hour or two off just to watch the game.
“The pain itself probably wouldn’t stop you playing. It’s if you played on it, it could get a lot, lot worse and you could get out for a lengthy time. You can’t risk it, not with calves.”
Tierney was handed his international debut back in March 2016, while he was still on Celtic’s books, and has since appeared in 21 games across all competitions for his country.
The talented full-back, who left Parkhead to join Arsenal in 2019, was handed his most recent caps during Scotland’s European Championship warm-up games against the Netherlands and Luxembourg at the start of the month.
