Sheffield United star hopes to make his Euro 2020 bow in one of its most highly-anticipated fixtures

The Sheffield United midfielder’s preparations for the tournament were disrupted when he tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month, forcing him to self-isolate at a training camp in Spain.

Fleck received a round of applause from his international colleagues when he finally reported for duty at their base near Darlington last week, before travelling to Glasgow for last night’s opening group encounter against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park.

However Fleck played no part against Jaroslav Silhavy’s side after Clarke admitted the match had come “too early” given the amount of work he had missed. It means the 29-year-old could make his debut at a major finals when Scotland meet their arch-rivals at Wembley in four days.

Although Fleck is unlikely to start the eagerly anticipated fixture - particularly given the emergence of Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour in recent months - it would be a surprise if he did not feature among the Scotland substitutes in London.

Oli McBurnie, his United team mate, was also set to be named in Clarke’s squad until his season was ended by a foot injury. Despite still recovering from that complaint, McBurnie has attracted interest from both Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers following United’s relegation from the Premier League.

However, neither of those two clubs are willing to match the £22m fee United paid to acquire McBurnie’s services two years ago.