ANDY Robertson has declared himself fit to play in Scotland’s make-or-break World Cup qualifying tie against Slovenia in Ljubljana – even if he has to play with protection or heavy strapping on his injured right wrist. There was concern all around Hampden Park on Thursday night when the Liverpool full back crumpled to the turf clutching his arm amid fears that he had fractured his wrist. Thankfully, some hastily applied strapping allowed him to soldier on until the end of the match, and he left holding the man of the match champagne after the late drama which keeps Scotland’s dream of qualification for our first major finals for two decades in Russia next summer alive.
“I will be okay,” said Robertson. “I will put a wrist protector on or I will just strap it up, but I should be alright for Sunday. I landed on my arm and then I couldn’t really feel anything so I was worried a bone might be broken, but the doc seems quite happy with things and he doesn’t think there is anything broken. My fingers are a wee bit fat and my wrist is a bit swollen but other than that I am okay. Hopefully, everything settles down and I will be okay.”
As Scotland piled on the pressure, chasing the goal against ten men on the former Queen’s Park man’s old stomping ground which they so badly needed, there was certainly little chance of Robertson exiting the fray. Considering how crucial Gordon Strachan’s substitutions turned out to be, it was of considerable importance to the team that the 23-year-old was able to continue.
“The gaffer came over to me because he needed everyone 100% fit,” said Robertson. “He asked if I was okay and I told him to give me a minute and luckily it kind of eased off with the strapping on. I waved over to him and told him I was fine and he could make his changes accordingly. He probably thought about taking me off if I wasn’t going to be 100% but it wore off and I was able to finish the game.”
This was far from a perfect performance from Scotland – Robertson is correct to point out how ‘erratic’ they were in the 10-15 minutes or so following Robert Mak’s dismissal – but the one thing it emphasised is how this Scotland side keep believing in matches until the final whistle. It is an instruction often barked out by football coaches but this team embody it, having scored no fewer than five priceless goals during this campaign in the dying minutes of matches.
“I can only speak for myself during the game but I always felt it was coming,” said Robertson. “Even when we were in the 80 or 85th minute I still thought this is coming. We were creating too many chances and I felt one would go in.
“We do believe,” he added. “We scored late goals against England and against Slovenia and Lithuania. We have scored a lot of late goals. We know we are a good team and we go right to the end. Everyone knows that about us now. We had put a lot of attacking players on and it was about focusing and not letting it slip like we did against England. I think from that point of view, we were different class. The two centre halves were heading everything and we were covering round and they didn’t have any other chances.”
What else can Scotland expect from the visit to Ljubljana than yet another helping of his nerve-shredding stuff? “It will be heart-in-mouth stuff again but the whole nation will be behind us,” he said. “The players and staff will now recover and get ready for going across there and it can end with us in the play-offs. We have done everything we can up to this point and now we are right in the mix. It is a similar pressure to the Slovakia game. We knew Sunday wouldn’t matter unless we beat Slovakia. We knew we needed to win them both. I am sure the Tartan Army will be over in great numbers and if we can perform as we have done in the last few games then it will hopefully get us through the group.”
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