Scotland suffer World Cup blow as three players miss training ahead of Brazil clash

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Scotland face a potential injury headache ahead of their crucial World Cup clash with Brazil.The two sides meet in group C on Wednesday, with kick-off at 11pm in Miami – live on talkSPORT.Clarke faces a triple injury headache ahead of Scotland’s crucial group meeting with BrazilAFPIt follows a narrow defeat to Morocco in their second fixture for Scotland on Friday.Having beaten Haiti in their opening match, though, they remain well poised to reach the knockout stage for the first time.However, they may still need a result against five-time winners Brazil.Carlo Ancelotti‘s side beat Haiti 3-0 in their last outing to move to the top of the group.What players are injury worries for Scotland?Ahead of the match, Steve Clarke has been handed a triple injury blow as preparations continue.Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey and Scott McKenna were all absent from training on Sunday.The former was out on the grass, though, instead training on his own after playing the full 90 minutes against Morocco.Hickey was an unused substitute for that fixture after starting their opener, whilst McKenna has yet to feature at the World Cup.Clarke has also been handed a fitness boost, though, with Kieran Tierney back in training.The left-back was forced off with cramp in the 60th minute on Friday.Ferguson missed training on Sunday alongside Scotland team-mates Hickey and McKennaShutterstock EditorialAs well as Tierney, the remaining 22 members of the Scotland squad all trained ahead of their match against Brazil.Scotland’s knockout hopesA win would see them reach the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time.Scotland are currently one of the eight best third-placed teams, but have played a game more than half of the groups at the World Cup.If they beat Brazil, they will leapfrog their opponents into the top two in group C to guarantee progression to the last 32.Meanwhile, they would top the group with a win if Morocco fail to beat Haiti.The winner of Scotland’s group will face the runner-up in group F, which will be one of the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden.Tierney has returned to training after he was forced off against MoroccoPACoverage of their final group fixture against Brazil will be live on talkSPORT on Wednesday.Natalie Sawyer presents commentary from 10pm, with kick-off at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 11pm.