Celtic have been reassured over the fitness of Alistair Johnston after the right-back was taken off during the first-half while playing for Canada on Saturday.
Johnston was substituted after just 25 minutes of his country’s 2-1 friendly win over the United States – Canada’s first victory on US soil since 1957 – after complaining of tightness in his hamstring
However, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch insisted the decision to replace the 25-year-old was precautionary and is hopeful Johnston will be available to face against Mexico on Tuesday.
Alistair said he felt a little bit of tightness in his hamstring and he felt it was smarter to step out,” Marsch said. “If you go back to the Holland game in June, he also did that and he knows his body.
“From that game, he was able to recover and play against France a few days later, so let’s hope it’s a similar type situation. I am hopeful that he will be okay.”
Meanwhile, new Celtic signing Arne Engels is to return early from international duty after making his senior Belgium debut in the 3-1 win over Israel on Saturday.
The record £11m recruit from Augsburg was brought on for the final 17 minutes of the Nations League match and made a positive impression on team-mate Kevin de Bruyne who said afterwards that the 21-year-old made “a very good substitution”.
The game was played behind closed doors in Hungary after several Belgian cities refused to host the home game over security fears relating to the Israel-Gaza war.
However, Engels will not be featuring in Belgium’s next match against France on Monday after it emerged he is suspended for the game in Lyon due to an accumulation of yellow cards from his time playing for the under-21s.
Reports indicate that the ban only applies to games played 24 hours either side of an under-21s match which is why was free to face Israel but not France, with the age-group side playing on Tuesday.