Scotland manager Steve Clarke has hinted that Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths could be left out of the Tartan Army's crucial upcoming games.

Griffiths out

The 30-year-old has been on a solid run recently, scoring three goals in his last five games in all competitions (TransferMarkt), including coming off the bench to find the net during their side's dismal 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague last week.

Despite this, doubts have arisen as to whether he can compete at an international level after struggling with various muscle injuries in the past 12 months (TransferMarkt), and he hasn't featured for Scotland since earning his 19th cap back in 2018.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Clarke suggested that Griffiths, who former Scotland boss Alex McLeish described as "tremendous" (via Football Insider), might not be ready to start against Serbia on Thursday in their Euro 2020 play-off.

“Leigh being Leigh, we all know his qualities in and around the 18-yard box", he said.

“His recent finishes off the bench for Celtic have been top and hopefully he can bring something like that into the camp.

“But he hasn’t started many games for Celtic recently and it might be a big ask for him to start in a game of this magnitude.”

Transfer Tavern take

This probably won't come as much of a surprise to the Parkhead faithful who has only started one match during the 2020/21 campaign as he continues to work his way back to full fitness.

But having made a significant impact coming off the bench this season, it would be foolish to write him off in terms of doing the same at the international level.

That being said, he could be ready to start against Slovakia or Israel if he gets the chance to impress during the Serbia game.

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