Celtic ace Griffiths withdrew from the Scotland squad on Monday.
Gary Caldwell has told BBC Sport that he wishes he made the same decision as Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths in his career after the Hoops hitman pulled out of Scotland’s squad for this month’s international fixtures.
Griffiths, 28, was called up to the Scotland squad by Alex McLeish but the former Wolves and Hibernian man has since decided to pull out – claiming he was to concentrate on his fitness.
This comes after Griffiths was dropped for Scotland’s UEFA Nations League win over Albania in the last international break, with Hearts striker Steven Naismith picked over the outspoken forward.
But Caldwell has taken Griffiths’ decision at face value and wishes he had turned down Scotland call-ups during his playing career, with the 36-year-old already having “two new hips.”
“Players need to be physically right to perform and Leigh knows his body best,” Caldwell said. “I turned up whether I was 100% or not and tried to give my best to help my country. Now, I have two new hips.
“He has to look after himself and get ready for Celtic and hopefully Scotland later in the year. If Leigh feels that way, I fully back that.”
Griffiths, who has also turned out for Dundee and Livingston during his career, has been in and out of Brendan Rodgers’ side this season – scoring only five goals in 16 league and cup appearances.
However, six of those have come from the bench and he is beginning to start more often of late, with Rodgers experimenting with a two-striker system that sees Griffiths start alongside Odsonne Edouard.
Celtic face a tough return to action after the international break as they play host to former manager Neil Lennon and Hibernian at Parkhead, before travelling to Germany to face Marvin Compper’s old side RB Leipzig in the Europa League.
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