SCOTT BROWN is on the verge of making a sensational Scotland comeback in time for next month’s World Cup crunch at Wembley.
Record Sport can reveal the Celtic skipper is set to be named in Gordon Strachan’s squad for the make-or-break showdown with England, despite announcing his international retirement four months ago.
Brown made that decision in order to concentrate on extending his club career under new Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers.
But now, after returning to full fitness and following a number of outstanding big-game performances, the 31-year-old is reconsidering his position.
And with Strachan losing a number of his most trusted midfield operators – and facing a win-or-bust qualifier against the Auld Enemy – Brown is ready to make himself available.
Brown has stayed in close contact with Strachan, his former gaffer at Celtic, since standing down as Scotland’s captain in the summer.
He has also kept in touch with a number of key figures in Strachan’s backroom team and was invited to Hampden as a VIP guest of the SFA for the recent Group F clash with Lithuania – a 1-1 draw which undermined Strachan’s hopes of making it to Russia 2018.
The fiercely patriotic Brown then watched on from afar as Scotland followed that up with a 3-0 drubbing in Slovakia, a result which led to Strachan considering his own position.
The pair swapped messages earlier this week after Brown became a father for the third time and it’s understood, only at that point did discussions begin about a possible comeback ahead of the showdown with Gareth Southgate’s group leaders.
Those talks reached an advanced stage over the last 24 hours and last night Strachan was hopeful of naming Brown in the squad, which will be announced next week ahead of the Wembley showdown in a fortnight’s time.
Strachan is likely to be without a number of key men as, even though Robert Snodgrass is determined to win a desperate race against the clock to recover from ankle ligament damage, Blackburn’s Charlie Mulgrew and West Brom’s James Morrison have hardly kicked a ball at club level so far this season.
Brown, on the contrary, has been at the top of his game since teaming up with Rodgers at Parkhead –
starring in a 3-3 thriller against Manchester City in the Champions League and also dominating two Old Firm derbies.
Sources insist that not only does he feel like a rejuvenated character under Rodgers but, after recovering from tendonitis in his hamstrings, he is in his best physical condition for years.
One said: “This has come out of the blue over the last few days but both Gordon and Scott are really excited by the prospect of working with one another again.
“Scott did the right thing for his own career and for Celtic when he stepped down from the international scene but he is a passionate Scotsman and he feels a sense of duty to help his country in its hour of need.
“If Gordon wants him at Wembley, he’ll be there.”