Stephen Welsh was withdrawn in the early stages of Swansea’s Championship clash with Portsmouth on Tuesday with a concerning injury.

It came on the same day when the ex-Celtic defender retained his spot in Sebastien Pocognoli’s Scotland squad after a fine start to the season in the English second tier.

Welsh suffered the blow as a direct result of a tackle from Portsmouth’s Eboue Adams. He signalled to the bench immediately that he needed to be substituted and appeared as in some distress as he was helped off the pitch.

Manager Victor Matos has confirmed that the defender will have scans this week. He was replaced by Ben Cabango in an eventual 3-1 defeat for the South Wales side.

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Stephen Welsh could need replaced in Scotland squad

The vacancy left in the Scotland squad by the ex-Celtic man could be filled by his ex-teammate Dane Murray, though Dominic Hyam, Ryan Porteous and David Bates are all also considered contenders.

However, the extent of Welsh’s injury has to be established first. He made the move to Swansea after being released as a ‘goodwill gesture’ by Celtic following a successful loan at Motherwell.

Welsh said of his rise since then: “Things couldn’t have gone any better. The season I had at Motherwell was brilliant. I owe a lot to Jens [Berthel Askou] and the way he got me playing.

“He completely changed the way I play and the way I see football. The way my whole career has panned out over the last 18 months has been amazing.

“I probably wouldn’t be playing in the English Championship now for a top team like Swansea and be getting this Scotland call-up if it hadn’t been for Jens and Motherwell. Him being my coach and my manager has had a big impact on me.

“Playing against the likes of Celtic and Rangers, they might spend all the money, but if you set up a team properly and every player knows what he is doing, then you can dominate the games and win them.

“Motherwell probably had the budget of a bottom-six side, but we were going to Ibrox and dominating and the same against Celtic. That was all down to Jens, putting proper detail in, trusting players to go and make mistakes. That is how you improve.

“He just simplified things for us. You can see all the moves that the boys (Elijah Just, Calum Ward and Elliot Watt) got over the summer. It is no coincidence.”