GRANT Hanley has assured Gordon Strachan that he will be fit for Scotland's crucial Euro 2016 qualifier with Republic of Ireland next month.

The Blackburn Rovers skipper missed the final 15 matches of Rovers' season with a calf injury that proved to be worse than he first feared, but hopes to prove his fitness with a run out for the Lancashire side's Under-21 side in the next week or so.

The 23-year-old has been a mainstay of Strachan's side, and the Scotland boss will be loathe to lose him for a match which will go a long way towards determining our hopes of qualifying for a major finals for the first time since 1998. While some of his squad will arrive ahead of the meeting with Qatar at Easter Road on June 5, those involved in the play-offs south of the border will be given dispensation to miss that match.

"There's obviously an international game for Scotland against the Republic of Ireland in June but that will be up to Gordon Strachan if he wants me to be involved or if he wants to leave me out because I haven't played in a while," said Hanley. "I'll certainly be doing everything I can to try and get myself a game.

"It's been really frustrating to miss the run-in through injury," he added. "From being out with just a little calf strain, which we hoped would only keep me out for two to three weeks, to miss over two months and the last 13 league games, has been really, really frustrating. It's never nice to end the season when you're not playing, so I've just got to concentrate on getting myself fit now, having a good summer and coming back strong. I'm back running now but I've had a couple of setbacks along the way, so I'm just going to take my time and get myself fully fit."