JOHN COLLINS is certain to miss Scotland's vital World Cup qualifier against Belarus on Sunday.

Monaco midfielder Collins complained of a back injury after Sunday's 3-2 victory in a friendly in Malta and has since returned to Monte Carlo for treatment.

The clear signal last night is that the 29-year-old will be forced to pull out of the party which flies to Minsk on Friday, leaving manager Craig Brown with a huge selection headache.

Brown's squad has already suffered from withdrawal symptoms for the Group Four tie. But the loss of Collins, who has scored nine times in 43 appearances for Scotland, will further restrict his options.

As yet, Brown is not contemplating a last-minute call-up, so David Hopkin, who made his debut in Malta, or Scot Gemmill are the obvious candidates to play alongside captain Gary McAllister and Paul Lambert. Another option might be to withdraw Darren Jackson to midfield and play Gordon Durie with Kevin Gallacher up front.

Scotland have already lost the Rangers quartet of Andy Goram, Stuart McCall, Alan McLaren and Ally McCoist, as well as regular central defenders Colin Hendry and Colin Calderwood for Belarus.

In addition, Billy McKinlay, John McGinlay and Duncan Ferguson were ruled out on fitness grounds.