George Burley, the Scotland manager, has fitness doubts over Kevin Thomson and Kris Commons, the midfield players, ahead of his side’s crucial World Cup group nine qualifying game against Norway on Saturday.

Thomson was carried off with an ankle injury in Rangers’ 1-0 defeat to St Mirren on Sunday, while Commons, of Derby County, has been sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring strain.

Burley, whose side have been plagued by injuries since he took over the national team job, will assess both players at the team’s training base ahead of the match.

“Kris Commons hasn’t played for a couple of weeks and Kevin Thomson got a really sore one at St Mirren so we will see what the doctors and physios say,” said Terry Butcher, the assistant manager. “We will look at all the other players as well and I’m sure there will be one or two little knocks and niggles.

“But, at this moment in time, there are only one or two who could be a doubt which is remarkable for Scotland because there are normally eight or nine at least.”

Holland sit on top of group nine with three points thanks to superior goals difference despite playing only one match so far. Scotland, in second, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, third, also have three points but have played two games. Norway, after one game, are fourth with a point while Iceland have a point from their draw and defeat so far.

Burley was criticised after the 1-0 defeat against FYR Macedonia last month and, although Scotland bounced back against Iceland with a 2-1 victory in Reykjavik, he will under pressure again if they slip up this weekend at a sold-out Hampden Park. Butcher hopes Scotland’s players will rise to the occasion.

“It’s about confidence. We are still at an early stage but the players have played a double-header, they know what it’s all about, and hopefully after Saturday we will be in a good, strong position,” he said. “It’s up to the staff and the players, in the few days that we have together, to make sure we are mentally right for the game and make sure we approach it properly.

“The players will be physically fit, that’s not a problem. Mentally, it’s about ‘This is our kingdom, this is our place, and teams should come here and fear us’ – hopefully they will do on Saturday.”

With Barry Ferguson still injured and stand-in captain Stephen McManus suspended for the Norway game, Burley has yet to decide who will shoulder the responsibility of leading out the team.

“We will have a look throughout the week and there are options there for George,” Butcher said. “It will be nice if we don’t have as many injuries and withdrawals as before.”

Butcher is convinced Scotland can reach the finals in South Africa if they play with a positive attitude.

“Our toughest opposition is ourselves because, if we’re not in the right frame of mind for any match, then we can struggle,” he said. “Lessons have been learned from Macedonia, particularly in the first half, and they were learned in Iceland as well. It’s a home match and we want to win our home games. We want to give it all that we can on Saturday.

“Norway should have beaten Iceland when they drew 2-2 [last month], they had plenty of opportunities, dominated possession and Iceland didn’t have many attacks on goal and yet scored two goals.

“So there is hope for us but they are a good side. They are a big, strong side. But it’s up to ourselves and how we approach the game.

“If we really want to win on Saturday, then I think we can do. We all know what we can do but it’s about having the bravery and the bottle to go out on that pitch and do it.”