Scotland defender Liam Cooper revealed the shock in the national team camp after midfielder Billy Gilmour tested positive for Covid-19.
Gilmour starred in the 0-0 draw with England on Friday night, but his positive test means he will miss the crucial Group D decider against Croatia tomorrow night.
Cooper had contracted Covid himself earlier in the season and has been in touch with the Chelsea midfielder since his test result was received.
He said: “It was a shock to us. We’ve stuck to the protocols and then this comes up. We all returned negatives apart from Billy – to take precautions we took lateral flow tests and we all returned negatives.
“Billy has announced himself on the world stage and Covid gets hold of him. I’m sure he’s gutted, we’re gutted. But we’ve got to move on.
“We’ve got a massive game tomorrow and one we need to win. That’s where our focus lies now.”
With Gilmour’s absence, Leeds defender Cooper believes it can provide Scotland with additional motivation against Croatia at Hampden.
Cooper added: “Definitely. We’re gutted for Billy, but it gives us that bit more motivation to do him proud. Hopefully we can get the job done, get the win, then we can start looking at the other groups as well.”
There were also questions around if Scotland players feared they may be told to self-isolate, or whether there were concerns about embracing one another after the game.
It emerged this afternoon that England pair Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell – club team-mates of Gilmour – would be isolating as a precaution.
Cooper said: “We just listen to the medical advice. Dr (John) MacLean has been clear and brilliant with us since day one. We’ve taken precautions from the training camp and around the hotel.
“I wasn’t aware of that with the England team – I’ll leave that to them.
“We’ve got to be aware of it (hugging). But we all know the moments and joy football can give you. It’s heat of the moment stuff and we’ll just play it by ear.
“It’s so difficult in that spur of the moment, if we do score a goal. It’s something we need to be aware of.”
Cooper may well be in line to start at the back tomorrow night with Scott McTominay moving back into midfield. Both played in the opening Euro 2020 game against the Czech Republic.
He said: “We’ve been playing the same system for a long time now. Whatever player comes in knows their role, what they need to do. That’s what we’ve worked towards the last few games.
“We go and play our game. We work hard for each other, be humble and try beat Croatia. That’s what we need to do to get out of the group.”
