Scotland confirm Billy Gilmour replacement as 19y/o earns late World Cup call-up

Napoli midfielder Gilmour suffered heartbreak on Saturday when it was revealed that a knee injury picked up in the 4-1 friendly win over Curacao will rule him out of the tournament.

Gilmour trudged off in the 42 minute of the match at Hampden and immediately left the national stadium for a scan, which later confirmed the devastating news.

"I am devastated for Billy because he has been an integral part of our World Cup qualifying campaign," said head coach Steve Clarke. "The timing of this injury is so, so cruel and we all feel for him.

"He knows what we all think of him as a footballer and a person and while no words will give him any comfort, I am certain Billy will have many major tournaments ahead of him in the future."

As a result, Clarke has decided to call up Manchester United's Tyler Fletcher after the youngster made his Scotland debut as a half-time substitute against Curacao.

Fletcher - the son of former Scotland captain Darren - has yet to start a match for Man Utd, but is highly regarded at Old Trafford. The 19-year-old had the advantage of already being in the camp and has done enough to earn a spot after impressing Clarke and his fellow coaches in training and in the match.

Lennon Miller (Udinese), Connor Barron (Rangers) and Andy Irving (Sparta Prague) were also under consideration after missed out on a place in the original 26-man roster for the World Cup, but have been usurped by 19-year-old Fletcher.

Speaking before knowing the full extent of Gilmour’s injury, Clarke said in his post-match press conference: “We have Connor Barron, Andy Irving, Lennon Miller and you can see for yourself how good young Tyler is. It will keep me awake tonight.

“The three I mentioned are on standby. Tyler joined us this week and trained well so is a little bit closer than the other three. I think he’s going to his auntie’s wedding tonight! But I would need to have a big discussion with my staff in deciding that’s the way to go.”

Fletcher, whose twin brother Jack is part of the England youth set-up, will now board the plane bound for the USA on Sunday along with the rest of the Scotland squad ahead of a pre-tournament training camp at Inter Miami CF’s state-of-the-art training facility in Fort Lauderdale.

Scotland face Bolivia in New Jersey next Saturday in their final warm-up match before the World Cup. They are in Group C of the tournament and face Haiti and Morocco in Boston, before heading to Miami to play Brazil.

Clarke and his players are looking to become the first Scotland team to reach the knock-out stages of a major tournament. Finishing in the top two will guarantee that, while the eight best third-placed teams will also reach the round of 32.