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John McGinn withdraws from Scotland squad ahead of Albania clash

John McGinn has nine caps for Scotland
Image: Former Hibernian midfielder John McGinn has made 13 caps for Scotland

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has withdrawn from Scotland's squad ahead of Saturday's Nations League clash against Albania with a calf injury.

The 25-year-old becomes the eighth player to pull out following Stephen O'Donnell, Charlie Mulgrew and Kevin McDonald on Saturday, Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon on Sunday, Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack on Tuesday and Michael Devlin on Wednesday.

Jon McLaughlin was also named in manager Alex McLeish's initial squad but was allowed to return to Sunderland in order to be available for selection for their Sky Bet League One game against Wycombe.

Scotland's visit to Albania on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football, is followed by a home match against Israel on Tuesday as Alex McLeish's side look to earn promotion from League C Group 1.

No additional call-up to replace McGinn will be made by Scotland for the Albania game, Sky Sports News understands.

Additional personnel may be brought in prior to the fixture with Israel.

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Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie is relishing being involved with Scotland for the Nations League games against Albania and Israel

Israel currently top the three-team group on six points after three games, while Scotland sit in second on three points with a game in hand. Albania also have three points.

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Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd says the national team has gone backwards since McLeish took charge, but midfielder Stuart Armstrong says the manager has the backing of all the players, despite their recent run of poor results.

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