CRAIG Gordon is in line to start his first Scotland match for four years on Tuesday night against England, after recognised first-choice goalkeeper David Marshall emerged as a major doubt for the game with a groin strain.
The 31-year-old, who earned the last of his 40 caps in a 3-0 friendly win against the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie in 2010, has been in splendid form for Celtic this season, having recovered from a career-threatening knee injury.
The physical effort expended by Scotland during Friday night's brutal Group D win against the Republic of Ireland put Gordon Strachan in the unlikely position of being able to rest a few battered bodies for the match against the Auld Enemy. Striker Steven Fletcher returned to Sunderland yesterday for a scan on the ankle injured in a challenge by Aiden McGeady, leading to a likely first start for Derby County striker Chris Martin.
Craig Bryson, his club mate, has recovered from the muscle strain which kept out of the squad for the Republic of Ireland match, allowing the midfielder to rejoin Strachan's squad.
James Morrison has recovered from a sickness bug and is likely to start against the country of his birth, but Darren Fletcher, Barry Bannan and Stevie May are also pushing for game time and the Scotland manager is keen to use most of his squad at some point during the match. Barring injury, Lewis Macleod will return to Mar Hall after featuring for Rangers against Alloa Athletic yesterday.
"Listen, we've got to go on and win it, that's what we've got to try and do," said Strachan. "That is the first priority. But I'd love to give everyone a touch of it, especially the guys who have been here the whole 10 days. It is very hard to come away for 10 days, non-stop, and not get a feel of the ball. So we will try and do that. I'll have a look at the bodies and see how they feel on Monday, then we'll take it from there."
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