STEVE CLARKE has been dealt a further blow to his Scotland squad with three players exiting the camp ahead of their friendly against Turkey.
Nathan Patterson, Che Adams and Kenny McLean have all pulled out of preparations ahead of the match on Wednesday.
No further players have been called up for the fixture, which will take in Diyarbakir.
It comes as manager Clarke has expressed disappointment over Celtic’s decision not to make their players available for Scotland’s friendly in Turkey next week.
The Hoops are heading to Australia for a tournament during the World Cup break and have made it clear that, as they are not obliged to do so, they will not be releasing any of their players for international friendlies during this period.
With Celtic captain Callum McGregor injured in any case, that means Clarke has been unable to call up Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston – both of whom featured in the last batch of Scotland fixtures in September – for the match in Diyarbakir next Wednesday.
“The base-line is that it’s not an official international window,” said Clarke, explaining the situation at Hampden after naming his 23-man squad on Wednesday. “I don’t know why because there’s a World Cup window going on. That sounds pretty official to me.
“The clubs don’t have to release their players and Celtic have chosen not to release their players for this game. I’m disappointed with that decision but we have to take it on the chin.”
Clarke has had no personal dialogue with anyone at Celtic over their stance.
“It was just a blanket decision,” he said. “Celtic have said none of their players are available for any international games for all the countries affected.
“The biggest issue for me is that it’s not a recognised FIFA international window. I can’t get my head round that one. It’s disappointing but we’ll deal with it.”
