Greg Stewart could be the answer to Scotland’s striking crisis, according to the frontman’s Kilmarnock colleague Gary Dicker.
National team boss Alex McLeish faces an injury nightmare ahead of next month’s showdowns with Albania and Israel.
Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths is a serious doubt for the crucial Nations League doubleheader with a calf injury while Hearts ace Steven Naismith faces an eight-week lay-off after undergoing surgery on his knee.
But Dicker reckons his on-form Rugby Park team-mate Stewart has shown enough since moving on loan from Birmingham this season to put him in the frame for a call-up.
His equaliser in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Rangers was the former Cowdenbeath, Dundee and Aberdeen attacker’s fourth goal in just eight appearances and Irishman Dicker said: “Greg has been brilliant since he came in.
“Maybe coming to a club like this was the best thing for him.
“Last year he was a bit stop start at Aberdeen but he’s come down here and we’ve got a really good group here at the moment.
“It’s quite easy to fit in and get involved straight away. That’s helped him settle in a bit quicker.
“We’re playing to his strengths right now and you can see that from his performances so far, which have been great.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he did get a call up to the national team with the way he’s been performing.
“He’s playing well and scoring goals and Scotland don’t have a lot of guys doing that at the minute, so he’s got to be in the running and why not?”
Stewart will be missing for Sunday’s Ladbrokes Premiership visit of his old side Aberdeen after being issued with a two-game ban for allegedly aiming an off-the-ball headbutt at Hamilton’s Scott Martin last weekend.
Thursday’s fast-track judicial panel hearing was Killie’s latest run in with Scottish Football Association disciplinary chiefs and boss Steve Clarke – who was handed a suspended two-game ban last week following comments he made about governing body’s appeal process – chose his words carefully as he responded.
He said: “I find the whole process to be confusing and it’s confusing because it’s inconsistent and that’s all I’ve got to say.”
Stewart’s punishment leaves the Kilmarnock manager facing his own headache up front with Eamonn Brophy rated doubtful after he sat out the midweek Gers clash.
“It’s a bit of a mess right now,” he said when asked for an injury update. “We’ve got lots of injuries, lots of knocks, lots of niggles.
“So two days before the game it’s difficult to say how many will be fit.”
