Roberto Martinez has admitted Jason Scotland’s late return from international duty is far from ideal but claimed his star striker has benefited from being with Trinidad and Tobago this time round.
And, having seen his star striker spend the entirety of his previous international duty on the bench, Martinez was delighted to see the 29-year-old actually getting some game time.
But the Spaniard was still left with mixed emotions following the trip. Scotland will not arrive back in the UK until 6:30 on Friday morning, meaning he won’t get to train with his Swansea teammates before the weekend’s game against Ipswich.
Martinez still feels the striker will be involved on Saturday though. And, as inconvenient for him as it might be, the Swans boss was just happy to see Scotland involved and getting the chance to impress on the international stage.
"It’s not ideal to be getting him back so late," he said. "But, on the other side, it has been a much better trip for him.
"He was involved in three games and psychologically he played a massive role for them.
"That is what international football is all about and, when he plays a big role, we just have to make sure the travelling and everything else doesn’t take too much out of him."
As for theWelsh trio of Ashley Williams, Owain Tudur Jones and Shaun MacDonald, Martinez added: "Everyone is ok and they have all come back without any problems. They should all be involved on Saturday so it’s good news all round."