Gary Naysmith and Steven Caldwell could miss Scotland's opening game against Bulgaria in the international friendly tournament staged in Japan, the Kirin Cup.

The defenders are carrying slight injuries and may be kept in reserve for Saturday's second game against the hosts of the mini-tournament, Japan.

Bulgaria will be feeling confident after they shocked the hosts, and World Cup finalist’s Japan 2-1 in the opening game.

Svetoslav Todorov and Hristo Yanev scored either side of a Seilichiro Maki goal as Bulgaria won despite being without their talismanic captain Stilian Petrov.

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan kept the Bulgarian back in Britain in order to play the midfielder to play in two testimonial matches, for Roy Keane’s against Manchester United and Alan Shearer’s testimonial against Newcastle United.

Scotland were also denied the services of three Celtic players originally chosen in manager Walter Smith's squad for the trip.

Smith has also had to travel without players from Hearts, who face Scottish Division 2 champions Gretna in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.

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