Sheffield United's John Fleck could feature against England despite missing Scotland's Euros opener after Covid-19 blow

Fleck, who missed a chunk of his side’s preparations for the tournament after testing positive for Covid-19 recently and being forced to self-isolate in his hotel room, was one of the three players omitted by boss Steve Clarke for this afternoon’s game.

UEFA allowed squads to be extended to 26 players because of the coronavirus situation, but only 23 can be named for a game – and that has to include two goalkeepers.

Fleck was always likely to miss out in the opener because of his self-isolation and the missed training as a result, but Clarke expects him to be involved for Scotland’s upcoming group games against England and Croatia.

“Because he is in his room isolating it would be a long shot that he is ready for the first game,” Clarke admitted on the eve of the Czech Republic fixture, “but he is certainly ready for the next two.”

John McGinn and Scott McTominay instead feature in midfield, while former Blade Che Adams is on the bench.

Scotland are appearing in their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup and Clarke said: “We are looking forward to it.

“We understand big games, big moments. Big games are for big players and we believe we have enough big players to handle the occasion.”

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