Scotland defender Kieran Tierney has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2024 with a hamstring injury sustained in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
Tierney was stretchered off late on in the Group A fixture and Scotland have confirmed the 27-year-old will miss the rest of the tournament as he returns to Arsenal to be assessed.
The injury to Tierney was a negative on an otherwise positive night in Cologne as Scotland kept alive their hopes of advancing to the last 16 of a major international competition for the first time with a vital point against the Swiss.
Scotland assistant John Carver admitted his loss will be felt as they try to make history.
“He’s got an issue with his hamstring and is heading home to be assessed by Arsenal. They’ll give you updates as they have it, but he’s obviously extremely disappointed,” said Carver.
“If we do progress and we move through the tournament, I’m sure it will be back to support us.
“He’s a young lad, he’s got plenty of time and he’s got to make sure that it’s right for his return.
“It’s a blow because he’s one of our top players and in tournament football you need your best players on the park.
“In particular with him he gives that balance on the left-hand side with Andy Robertson and Callum McGregor and they combine really well so whenever any team loses their best players, then it will affect the situation.
“It is also an opportunity for somebody else to step in. We went to the game the other night against Switzerland and everybody was itching after the performance against Germany so there’s an opportunity there for somebody to step forward and make a claim for it.”
Scotland must now beat Hungary in Stuttgart on Sunday to reach the knockout stage, but they will have to do so without another key player.
Steve Clarke was already without full-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Paterson while Ryan Porteous remains suspended following his red card in the 5-1 loss to Germany.
Boyd: Scotland ‘did the nation proud’ in Switzerland draw
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Kris Boyd says Scotland ‘did the nation proud’ as they secured their first point of Euro 2024 with a draw against Switzerland
Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd on Sky Sports News:
“There were questions and criticism after the performance on Friday night and rightly so.
“But they’ve responded against Switzerland and it’s been more like Scotland, right in their faces.
“Switzerland are no mugs at this level but they’ve more than matched them and they come away with a draw.
“Yes they rode their luck at times but I think Steve Clarke will be relatively happy with that result.
“From where we were on Friday night there had to be a response and we’ve got that.
“There were probably a few harsh words flying around the training ground over the last few days, but that’s the life of a footballer. There are ups and downs.
“Scotland have shown they can compete at this level. It’s a quick turnaround but they’ve done the nation proud.”