George Burley is confident that Barry Ferguson's absence will not scupper Scotland's 2010 World Cup qualification hopes.
The Rangers and Scotland skipper had an operation on an ankle injury on Monday which could keep him sidelined for up to four months, meaning he will miss the first two games of the qualification campaign, away to Macedonia and Iceland in September.
Burley acknowledged Ferguson's importance to his side but believes players such as Paul Hartley, Barry Robson, Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Darren Fletcher can fill the gap left by the influential midfielder.
"I spoke to Barry on Friday and I know he was in London on Monday to have the operation," said Burley.
"It's upsetting for the boy but it is one of these things.
"He has to get the head down, get the rehabilitation done and get fit as soon as possible.
"It's too early to say what the time factor will be. Rangers will keep us informed but you could be talking three or four months out.
"He has been a major part of Scottish football - captain of Rangers, captain of Scotland - so it is a big blow for everybody connected to the Scotland squad and, of course, Glasgow Rangers.
"But you do get injuries in football and we have to plan ahead without him, especially for the first couple of games of our qualifying campaign.
"I feel we are very strong in the midfield with five or six very good players so we have quality in abundance.
"We want him back quickly but I'm sure that other players will take their opportunity."
Burley was at the Hampden museum to open The Auld Enemy Exhibition which charts 128 years of Scotland versus England matches.
He revealed that the SFA enquired about playing England in November after pulling out of a proposed friendly against Argentina at Hampden when the Tartan Army let it be known that they would not be willing to pay increased ticket prices to entice the South Americans to Glasgow.
The Scotland boss said: "You always want to play against the best.
"I played against Argentina in 1979 when Maradona was playing at that time as a 17-year-old and it was something you never forget.
"Maybe the timing and expense was wrong but it was certainly worth looking at.
"Hopefully, maybe one day it will be right.
"Now we have to move forward and we are looking at other European countries to get a game in November.
"We thought about playing England but they have a game pencilled in for that date.
"It would be great to play against England.
"It wasn't right for us to play them in the summer but hopefully we can play them again in the future.
"Certainly there's a place for it and I'm sure it will be sorted out in the next three or four years.
