Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell hopes for further clarity on Josh Reid in the coming days after the teenager entered self-isolation following Scotland under-19 duty.
Defender Reid was part of the Scots side which was forced to abandon its game against England under-19s at St George’s Park on Thursday, after Scotland head coach Billy Stark was made aware of his positive Covid-19 result during the match.
Although Kettlewell has confirmed Reid has tested negative for the virus since returning to Victoria Park, the 18-year-old has undertaken a precautionary 14-day self-isolation.
Stark, who managed Kettlewell at Queen’s Park, is awaiting results of a second Covid-19 test while the Scottish FA are also conducting a risk assessment to establish who the Scotland coach came into close contact with during the camp.
Kettlewell is hoping for further answers in the coming days, and he said: “We had the unfortunate case of young Josh being away with Scotland’s under-19s.
“He was actually on the pitch, playing against England, when my old boss Billy Stark had the unfortunate news of finding out he had a positive test.
“It was a bit of a spanner in the works. If I’m being honest, there is probably no black or white situation as to where some of the players sit in terms of contact time with Billy.
“We have had to take the decision that Josh goes into self-isolation. He has tested negative for the virus since he has left the Scotland camp, but we are following guidelines from the NHS.
“Hopefully in the next couple of days we will have an update. I think Hamilton and Hibs are in a similar position with a couple of their lads from that group who are involved in first team football.
“Hopefully we get some positive news to push that on in the next couple of days.”
County host Arbroath in tonight’s Betfred Cup match, with the Red Lichties having defied all expectation by finishing fifth in last season’s Championship.
Kettlewell is full of admiration for their veteran former Staggies manager Dick Campbell, adding: “To my money they are probably the strongest part-time club in the country. They have got experience and quality – and a wily old fox as a manager.
“In the last couple of years I’ve tended to get a monthly phone call from Dick. He’s just what I would regard as a proper older school manager. By that I mean it in the best possible way.
“I have got a huge amount of respect for all he has done, for all his promotions and how he has been able to build teams that have been successful.
“You look at how much his players respect him, and he always seem to have a good group of guys around him.
“My generation at times scoff at older managers and maybe question their age and their idea of football, but I can safely say Dick is someone I’ve got a massive amount of respect for.”
County suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Angus side at Gayfield in the same competition two years ago, making Kettlewell all the more wary of their threat.
He added: “That’s a learning curve. We played at Arbroath in this competition and made several changes to our team on that occasion.
“I think we still went on to win the group, but it was a sore one for us.”