Scott McTominay trained with his Scotland teammates on Friday, 24 hours after an upset stomach forced him to miss a session and travel separately from the squad as a precaution. The Napoli midfielder, 29, had been isolated alongside a doctor after the team arrived in Boston, but head coach Steve Clarke confirmed he is now "perfect and ready to go" for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Haiti.
“I’ve got 26 superstars here,” Clarke said, downplaying the significance of any one player. “To try to put so much on to one person is not fair. We’ve built everything we’ve done over the last seven years on the squad, the team, everyone being together and playing their part at certain times. We are delighted with Scott’s abilities and what he can bring to the team. But we are going to need another 15 to bring the same if we want to have a positive tournament.”
“Scott McTominay recovers from upset stomach to train ahead of Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti.”
While McTominay is available, centre-back Scott McKenna will miss the Haiti game after failing to train this week because of a calf issue. Clarke said McKenna is expected to train on Monday, but the injury leaves a gap in defence for Scotland’s first World Cup match in 28 years.
The game takes place on Saturday (Sunday, 02:00 BST) at Boston Stadium in Foxborough. Scotland will also face Morocco and Brazil in the group stage, meaning a positive result against Haiti is critical if they are to progress beyond the group for the first time since 1998.
McTominay’s recovery is a boost, but Clarke’s message was clear: no one player will define this campaign. The real test begins now.