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Scotland face injury setback ahead of World Cup campaign

Scotland face injury setback ahead of World Cup campaign originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

With each passing day, the FIFA World Cup gets that much closer, which means that teams all around the globe are busy getting ready for their chance to lift the iconic trophy. This certainly has been the case for Scotland, who will return to the global spectacle for the first time since 1998.

Their qualification for the World Cup comes after two rough performances in the previous UEFA European Championships, failing to advance past the group stage in both 2020 and 2024. Their group for the upcoming tournament was set to be quite the uphill battle, facing off against the likes of Brazil, Morocco, and Haiti, but it appears that their struggles have already begun.

Gilmour goes down with an injury

As announced by the Scottish National Team's social media page, the Tartan Army will be without Billy Gilmour for the World Cup, after the midfielder suffered a knee injury in the team’s 4-1 friendly victory against Curacao.

This will be a certain blow for Steve Clarke, as Gilmour was on a rich vein of form with Napoli this season, not for his work on the ball, but rather in out-of-possession instances, recording 11 interceptions and winning out on eight tackles.

In his place, Clarke has several ways in which he could go, with the likes of John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, Findlay Curtis, and Gilmour’s Napoli teammate Scott McTominay, among other candidates.

Gilmour’s injury occurs with Scotland having exactly two weeks until their World Cup campaign is underway, starting things off with a match against Haiti. Given this, it should give Clarke enough time to make adjustments.

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