Suzanne Grant, the Celtic striker, intends to resume her international career following the birth of her first child in December and has taken heart from watching Scotland team-mate Julie Fleeting do the same in March 2010.
Grant, whose long-term partner is footballer David Winters, was not named yesterday in Scotland's 18-woman squad for the friendly against European champions Germany next Saturday. She has been a regular since making her debut, aged just 16, and reached her century of caps against the United States in February.
"I'm going to miss the start of the World Cup qualifiers in the autumn, but I've got over 100 caps now and I want to be a mum," said Grant, whose twin sister, Shelley, is married to Don Cowie, the Cardiff City midfielder. "Hopefully I'm going to come back after having the baby. It just depends how my body reacts to the pregnancy.
"I'm continuing to train with Celtic and the people I've spoken to say I could keep training until I'm eight months pregnant. If I do return to international football I'd hope to do the same as Julie did and take my baby to away games. The SFA say I could do the same."
Scotland defeated Iceland in Reykjavik last Saturday – their fourth straight victory – but face a tough match with Germany in Essen. However, Kim Little, who withdrew from side which won in Reykjavik, returns to the squad. Emma Mitchell is also available for a game which will be played at the home of her club side, SGS Essen.
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