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James Forrest has been forced to withdraw from the Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal due to injury. [SunSport]

The 33-year-old Celtic winger adds to a growing list of absentees for Scotland, with key players like Lawrence Shankland, Greg Taylor, Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson, and John McGinn already sidelined.

Forrest’s injury became apparent after he missed Scotland’s final training session before their clash with Croatia in Zagreb. He will now return to Celtic for treatment, with the Hoops set to face Aberdeen on October 19 following the international break. This marks another challenging period for Forrest, who also missed the previous international camp due to injury.

He’s featured for Celtic seven times this season in the league, grabbing three assists while he’s been at it. After falling out of favour, he impressed Brendan Rodgers towards the back end of last season and found himself playing some consistent minutes.

The injury setback comes at a difficult time for both Forrest and Scotland, as manager Steve Clarke deals with a depleted squad heading into important Nations League fixtures, looking to pick up their first points of the campaign.

For Celtic, the priority will be ensuring Forrest is fit and ready to contribute when domestic action resumes.

Clarke has also been forced to make do without influential attacker John McGinn due to a hamstring problem, while Lewis Ferguson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McKenna, Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson remain sidelined with injuries.

The Celtic stalwart – capped 39 times by his country – will remain in Glasgow and return to Lennoxtown for treatment for a suspected knock, with the Scottish champions returning to domestic action in a top-of-the-table encounter against Aberdeen at Parkhead on Saturday, October 19. It’s unclear how serious the injury is but the 33-year-old will be assessed by Celtic’s physio team over the coming days.