Scotland defender Kieran Tierney has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2024 and has already left the camp in Germany to return to club Arsenal due to a hamstring injury.
The left-back was stretchered off late on in the 1-1 draw against Switzerland on Wednesday night and will play no part in Scotland’s must-win Goup A decider against Hungary on Sunday, or in the remainder of the tournament if Scotland progress.
“He’s got an issue with his hamstring and as we speak he’s heading home to be assessed by Arsenal,” Scotland’s assistant coach John Carver said on Friday afternoon.
“That’s all I can say. They will be able to give updates when they have it. He is obviously disappointed. If we do progress through the tournament, I’m sure he will be back to support us.
“But he’s a young lad, he’s got time and he needs to make sure it is right for his return. It’s a blow because he is one of our top players. At tournament football, you need your best players on the park.
“In particular with him, he gives us balance on the left with Andy Robertson and Callum McGregor. They combine really well. So when any team loses their best players then it will affect the situation.
“But it also is an opportunity for someone to step in. Against Switzerland, everybody was itching after the performance against Germany so there’s an opportunity for somebody to take a step forward and make a claim for it.”
Scotland must beat Hungary in Stuttgart to advance to the last 16 of a major international tournament for the first time after earning a precious point against Switzerland in Cologne. Tierney was replaced by Scott McKenna in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw against the Swiss, which kept Scotland’s hopes alive.
But Tierney’s injury was a negative on the night and leaves an already depleted defence with another key absentee. Scotland were already without full-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Paterson while Ryan Porteous will be suspended against Hungary following his red card in the 5-1 defeat against Germany.
Steve Clarke was pleased with Scotland’s response to that opening humiliation in Munich as Scotland kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
“It’s what we expected,” Clarke said. “This is the way we’ve been playing over the last three or four years and it is why we’re here. The players knew what they had to do.”
Clarke believes the “real Scotland” turned up and added: “We’re still alive in the tournament. It’s just about doing better, all the time. Sometimes it does go your way but we got back to what we’re good at and worked hard.”
The Scotland head coach is confident Scotland will go into their Group A decider against Hungary in a better place mentally following the opening defeat to hosts Germany.
“They’re going to feel a lot better going into the next game,” Clarke said. “This is who we are. We were aggressive and showed fight. That’s the dirty side, but we can play and when we get it down we created some chances.”