Birmingham City striker Garry O’Connor was called up to the Scotland squad on Monday as a replacement for the injured Kevin Kyle for World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and the Netherlands.

Birmingham and Stoke picked up a point each as headed efforts from Ricardo Fuller and Gary O’Connor failed to break the deadlock.

Marcus Bent, Kevin Phillips, Garry O’Connor and Barry Ferguson all started Birmingham’s 2-0 pre-season defeat to Augsburg.

Birmingham hope to have Garry O’Connor available to face Plymouth, who could be unchanged.

Garry O’Connor admits there is huge pressure on Birmingham to seal promotion – but that comes with the territory of playing for a big club.Six games stand between Blues and promotion back to the Premier League, starting with next Monday’s crunch clash against promotion rivals Wolves. But the pressure of the derby encounter will be water off a duck’s back to O’Connor and his Birmingham team-mates.

Garry O’Connor admits match practice will prove crucial as he looks to regain the form he was enjoying before picking up a groin problem.The Scotland international striker had scored six goals in 11 games, including three in his last two, before sustaining the injury while warming up at Loftus Road before the clash against QPR towards the end of October.

Blues strikers Garry O’Connor and Kevin Phillips are given the all-clear for a first team return.

Boss Alex McLeish admits he and his backroom team are “tearing their hair out” over Birmingham City’s mounting injury problems.Seven senior Blues players are currently sidelined with striker Garry O’Connor only recently returning to action.

Birmingham’s promotion push is set for a timely boost with strikers Garry O’Connor and Kevin Phillips close to returning from injury lay-offs.O’Connor has been sidelined with a groin injury since October while Phillips has been out with a hamstring problem.

Birmingham City striker Garry O’Connor faces a further spell on the sidelines after suffering a setback in his recovery.