Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour has spoken out after his World Cup dream was shattered by a knee injury, describing it as “a tough one to get my head around”. The 24-year-old was forced to withdraw from the squad on the eve of the team’s departure for the United States, after sustaining the problem during the first half of Saturday’s warm-up match against Curacao at Hampden Park.
Gilmour’s place in Steve Clarke’s 23-man squad has been taken by 19-year-old Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher, who made his senior debut as a half-time substitute in the 4-1 victory over the World Cup debutants. The Napoli player took to Instagram on Tuesday to express his devastation, writing: “I haven’t got the words to describe how I’m feeling right now. Being so close to a childhood dream of mine, to play in a World Cup and now it has been taken away from me with an injury.”
He thanked fans for their support, adding: “Your support and kind messages over the last few days mean the world to me and haven’t gone unnoticed, so thank you so much. I’ll see you all back doing what I love again soon but until then, let’s get behind the team and cheer them on. Come on Scotland!”
Scotland arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday for their pre-tournament camp and held their first training session on Monday. They will face Bolivia in a friendly in New Jersey on Saturday before travelling to their World Cup base in Charlotte. The Scots, appearing at their first World Cup since 1998, have been drawn in Group C alongside Haiti, Morocco and Brazil.
