Youssef Safri will be under Peter Grant's microscope today as he checks his midfielder's recovery from the exertions of an 85-minute appearance for Morocco in midweek.

Youssef Safri will be under Peter Grant's microscope today as he checks his midfielder's recovery from the exertions of an 85-minute appearance for Morocco in midweek.

Safri provided the free kick which led to Merouane Chamakh's opener in the 1-1 draw against Tunisia in Rabat on Wednesday.

And Grant is hopeful the 2,600-mile return journey has not taken too much out of him - with memories of last November's away day at Ipswich still clear in his mind. Safri missed the derby clash because of a cold, having played for his country in a friendly against Gabon in Rabat four days earlier.

“It is difficult because I know Youssef has been abroad and the travelling and that and we will have to look at him and see how he is,” said Grant.

“He had problems before coming back from international games, because of the climate more than anything else. I think some of the weather they play in is tropical and all of a sudden they come back here.

“If you remember the Ipswich game he ended up with a cold before the game and that was after his international match. That was the only time he had been away on international duty since I came here and he came back not well, so that is why I am cautious on that one.”

The only other senior player away on international duty was goalkeeper Paul Gallacher, who played the first half of Scotland B's 2-2 draw against Finland at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park - letting in one of the goals.

“David Marshall will stay in goal at the weekend,” said Grant. “But it's great to have Gall in the squad as well because that competition for places makes it a little bit better because I don't think I have really had that.”