John Souttar certainly didn’t think so at the time. But six weeks on from having his Euros dream snatched away, the Rangers defender admits sitting out this summer’s Scotland action might just turn out to be a benefit in disguise.
The 27-year-old was left heartbroken after being cut from Steve Clarke’s squad just 24 hours before the national team flew out to Germany.
It was the second tournament in a row in which the luckless centre-back was overlooked amid concerns over his fitness. It’s three years since the then-Hearts stopper missed out on Euro 2020 after battling back from a third devastating Achilles rupture of his career.
He joined Gers 12 months after that let down but saw his first season at Ibrox wrecked by another ankle injury. It looked, though, that Souttar was over the worst of his troubles this season as he registered 43 runs outs for club and country.