Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour confessed he had concerns about his fitness heading into the international break due to his lack of domestic action.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Gilmour relived the injury he suffered whilst away with Scotland the last time he was left out in the cold at Norwich City.
The midfielder hasn’t played a minute of club football since the Tartan Army’s last fixture, a 1-0 win against the Faroe Islands almost a month ago.
His last appearance for Norwich can be traced back to late September, Daniel Farke’s side losing 3-0 to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
Gilmour’s only other outing since August for the Canaries came in the Premier League at home to Watford.
He has been forced to sit on the bench and watch on as his teammates struggle to pick up points.
Scottish saviour
It’s poignant that the 20-year-old’s best football this season has been spent in a Scotland shirt.
One of the highlights of the campaign occurred at Hampden Park towards the beginning of October.
Steve Clarke’s men hosted Israel, with just a point separating the two teams in the race to finish runners-up in their European Championship qualifying group.
The scores were level at 2-2 right up until the very last breath, where Scot McTominay scored a 94th-minute winner to send the city into bedlam.
Gilmour was amongst the ecstatic scene on the pitch, but couldn’t enjoy the celebrations properly.
Because of his lack of minutes with Norwich, the youngster’s body was just not prepared for such a physical and mental battle.
Feeling rusty
“I hadn’t played in a while and I played that full game,” said the Chelsea academy product.
“I did the knee slide and it was like someone had shot me. I just felt my hamstrings go.
“If you look back, I tried to stand up and I fell back on Kieran (Tierney) or Callum (McGregor).
“KT was telling me: ‘You can’t be cramping up – you’re young.’ But I knew I was done!
“The boss was looking at me and I told him: ‘I’m done – can’t run anymore!’ But what a night it was.”
Hopefully the same won’t happen again to Gilmour when Scotland play Moldova tomorrow night, then Denmark next Monday.
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