Bruce asks Scots to ignore Gordon

yorkshire mackem · 29th September 2010, 06:15 PM

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce does not want Scotland to pick Craig Gordon for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Spain.

Gordon returned to action in a reserve game on Monday after recovering from his second broken arm in nine months.

But Bruce will not rush the former Hearts goalkeeper back for his club's Barclays Premier League contest against Manchester United on Saturday.

Bruce wants Gordon to slowly build up his fitness to avoid another recurrence of his arm problem and will keep Belgian youngster Simon Mignolet in goal.

"He has been absolutely terrific and what that has enabled us to do is give Craig Gordon every chance to get back to full fitness in his own time and make sure he's confident that his arm is okay," Bruce told the Sunderland Echo.

"Maybe in the past we might have played him in the reserves on Monday, and then shoved him straight back in the first team. But there's no need to do that now.

"We've got the international break coming up, which will give him even more time to get himself right and then I'll have a decision to make in two or three weeks' time."

Allan McGregor played well in Scotland's opening qualifiers against Lithuania and Liechtenstein but Gordon is the indisputable number one when fully fit.

Bruce said: "I hope Scotland don't use him, because I think he just needs another two or three weeks of continuous training and hard work.

"That's not in my hands though, we'll just have to wait and see about that."

Bruce will find out tomorrow when Craig Levein names his squad, which is set to include at least one new face.

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