STUART McCALL has revealed no chances will be taken over the fitness of Scotland captain Scott Brown ahead of Friday night in Georgia.

The Celtic skipper went off with an impact injury during the Parkhead club’s 3-1 victory over St Johnstone on Saturday, leaving the Tartan Army concerned over the condition of the man who has also led his country with conviction this campaign.

Brown reported for national service the following day but was one of three players, along with Russell Martin and Ikechi Anya, who did not train with the rest of their 18 outfield team-mates at Mar Hall yesterday.

McCall insisted to SportTimes that he is confident the midfielder will be fit and ready to go in Tbilisi for Scotland’s crunch Euro 2016 qualifier.

But he admitted the 30-year-old may not even train with them team until the night before the tie to make sure he is 100% for what is arguably Scotland’s biggest match for years.

The Scotland coach said: “Obviously he took a whack, it wasn’t a twist or anything like that. It was a full-on impact blow.

“He’ll look to train. If not today, he’ll definitely train Thursday because we travel on Wednesday.

“Ikechi Anya is the same. He’s had an ongoing little niggle. It’s nothing major it just needs to be managed. He’ll train Thursday and everyone else apart from Christophe [Berra] and Stuart [Armstrong] are fine.

“We have 21 outfield players and 18 trained yesterday Russell Martin played yesterday and we left Ketch and Broony out.

“I think the pair will be left until Thursday but there is no doubt about them, it’s just managing them but they will be 100 per cent fine.

“They are certainly important to us. I think you saw what a threat Anya can be with his goal in Germany and he did well when he came on against Ireland.

“Obviously Browny has been a catalyst for the improvement in performances. Under Craig he was out for a good period of time through injury, and since he’s been back he’s been a steady influence.

“He’s the type of lad that regardless of how he is playing personally, he’ll have an impact on the team by going about, doing his job and getting about things. He’s a good captain.”

With just four games left, the pressure and excitement is already mounting on a Scotland squad that is carrying the nation’s best shot of reaching a tournament since 1998 on its shoulders.

With that expectation comes responsibility, and it is something McCall acknowledges.

There were over 10,000 Tartan Army footsoldiers in Dublin in June for the 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland, and thousands are also expected to be setting off for Georgia this week.

But the Scotland coach says he and his team don’t feel the burden of pressure on them as a result of heightened hopes – as the squad share the country’s new-found sense of belief.

McCall said: “I think there is an expectation from ourselves now because there is a belief. The staff believe in the players, so do the fans and the players believe in each other. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“You have to manage expectation when you are a footballer. Scotland players probably haven’t had that in a long time because tournaments in the previous year we were out of them early. Certainly when we took over during the last one that was almost the case.

“But there is an expectation now. Now who knows what that expectation will be in a week’s time, it may have changed again. It might be a feeling of ‘we need to grasp third’ or an expectation of ‘we have a chance of being top’.

“These next two games will decide what the final two games will become.”