Liverpool's Andy Robertson Says He's Been Playing with Injury for over 2 Weeks

Liverpool's Andy Robertson has explained he has been forced to pull out of Scotland's squad for their upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers because he has been playing through injury for over two weeks. 

It was announced on Tuesday that the left-back will be absent for Scotland's clashes against Cyprus and Kazakhstan, and he could also be a doubt for Liverpool's next match against Crystal Palace:

Both of Scotland's matches are dead rubbers as they are too far off the top two, Belgium and Russia, to qualify from Group I, even if they pick up six points in their final fixtures.

But Robertson, who played a key role in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, said he is frustrated to be missing out on playing for his country, per MailOnline's Nathan Salt:

"It's a big disappointment for me to miss out. I don't care what game it is, I want to play, and my track record in the last five years has shown that. But for the last two-and-a-half weeks, I've not trained at all for Liverpool. I've trained the day before a game, could only play the last 15 minutes against Genk in the Champions League and missed the Arsenal game in the League Cup.

"It's a niggling injury which won't go away unless I give it time. My ankle was already injured when a tackle from Rodrigo on me late in the game against Manchester City on Sunday opened it up again. I was already a doubt for Scotland but unfortunately that made it even worse. I don't want to pick up more injuries and ruin my season because of it. 

"The call has been made and it has been taken out of my hands. It hurts as captain to miss out. I know a lot has been said about these two games being meaningless but we don't believe that."

It is a boost for Liverpool that Robertson, 25, will now get the best part of two weeks off in a bid to be fit for the Palace game on November 23.

He and fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are crucial to the effectiveness of Jurgen Klopp's system:

And after the international break, Liverpool face a busy schedule.

The win over City at Anfield has put the Reds in the box seat to win this season's Premier League and break their 30-year title duck in the English top flight:

But Liverpool's campaign could yet unravel during a hectic Christmas period:

Their involvement in the Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, Carabao Cup and FA Cup means Liverpool are scheduled to play weekend and midweek games until the middle of January.

Klopp has possibly the best starting XI in Europe to call upon, but Liverpool's squad depth is not up to the quality of City's and is what hurt them in the title race last season.

Because of the cushion they have built up at the top of the Premier League, Liverpool can afford to drop some points.

But they will not want to lose the incredible momentum they have built at the start of 2019-20, nor give City a sniff of getting back in the race.

As such, Liverpool must keep on winning, starting with the visit to Selhurst Park, which Robertson will now be aiming to be fit for having withdrawn from the Scotland squad.