Scotland call up teenage Manchester United midfielder to replace injured Billy Gilmour in World Cup squad | OneFootball

Scotland have called up teenage Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher to replace Billy Gilmour in their World Cup squad.

Gilmour sustained a knee injury in the friendly win over Curacao at Hampden Park, and was withdrawn from Steve Clarke’s 26-man selection on Saturday evening.

Called up in the midfielder’s stead is 19-year-old Fletcher, who made his debut as a half-time replacement in the 4-1 victory.

Fletcher, whose twin brother Jack has chosen to represent England, was one of four players added to the training squad last week by head coach Clarke.

He is the son of former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who made 80 appearances for Scotland between 2003 and 2017.

Clarke sent a message of support to Napoli’s Gilmour after a cruelly-timed injury blow.

"I am devastated for Billy because he has been an integral part of our World Cup qualifying campaign," said 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."

Scotland are due to fly to the United States shortly and face Bolivia in New Jersey next Saturday. Haiti, Morocco and Brazil are their Group C opponents at the tournament having qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.