There was a big shock at the second half of Scotland’s clash with Brazil on Wednesday night as captain Andy Robertson did not emerge after the break.
It was a tough night for the Scots as they were beaten 3-0 by the five-time winners, which leaves their World Cup future hanging in the balance.
The left-back started the game in Miami and there was no obvious incident during the first half which suggested he had suffered an injury.
However, he did not return to the field, with Kieran Tierney taking his place at half-time.
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32-year-old was spotted on the Scotland bench in the second half and it was clear that the substitution was made due to an injury problem.
The long-term Liverpool star, who is joining Spurs this summer, had ice wrapped round his right ankle as he sat on the bench.
Whether he had turned it or it was an impact injury was not clear, but obviously the veteran was in too much pain to continue.
Brazil were 2-0 ahead when Robertson went off at the break, with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr scoring both goals.
The first was a gift from Jack McKenna when he gave the ball away in his own box, while the second was poorly defended as Vinicius headed into an empty ned as the ball evaded the defenders and goalkeeper.
On the hour-mark Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha made it 3-0 and Scotland’s hopes of progressing from the group stage took a serious blow.
Scotland will finish third in their group, with the eight best third-placed teams qualifying for the last 32.
Steve Clarke’s men will finish on three points so their future will go down to goal difference, with their hopes not looking good if it ends on -3 or worse.
There will be a tense wait after Wednesday night as the Scots wait to see what happens in the rest of the groups.
Luck would have to be firmly on their side to see them progress, but it is not out of the question.
According to Opta, the chances of Scotland progressing with a goal difference of -3 is 42 per cent.
Robertson spoke ahead of the match of the significance and emotion of the crucial game against Brazil.
‘We have five million people back home shouting and cheering us on,’ Robertson said Tuesday. ‘It’s massive, but it’s something to be excited about.
‘We want to be the ones to try and create history. There have been plenty of teams before us that haven’t quite managed it, and that’s what we’ll be looking to do tomorrow night.’