Scotland lose Billy Gilmour to injury, first World Cup withdrawal confirmed | OneFootball

The midfielder twisted his right knee and will not recover in time for the World Cup. He has already left the training camp to begin treatment in Italy.

His name was on his national team’s final squad list and he had hoped to make a strong impression in the United States, but an injury completely changed his plans. This Sunday, the first official withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup was confirmed. It is Billy Gilmour, one of Scotland’s standout players, who was ruled out because of a serious problem in his right knee.

Just days before the start of the World Cup, the Tartan Army played a friendly against Curaçao in Glasgow that, beyond the 4-1 thrashing that filled them with confidence, left a negative outcome. Shortly before the end of the first half, the Napoli midfielder had to leave the field urgently.

The play that caused the injury almost went unnoticed during the warm-up match. The former Chelsea player went down on the turf after completing an uncomplicated pass and walked off with a slight limp, a sign that sparked some optimism. However, the MRI scan he underwent hours later confirmed the worst-case scenario: there is ligament damage, and the recovery timeline is incompatible with playing in the tournament.

The Scottish Football Association made the news official in a statement: “We regret to announce that the knee injury suffered by Billy Gilmour in today’s victory against Curaçao will prevent him from participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Everyone involved with the Scotland men’s national team wishes Billy a speedy recovery. He will now return to his club, SSC Napoli, to begin his rehabilitation.”

Gilmour’s absence is a hugely significant loss for the British side, which will play in a World Cup again after 28 years. The 24-year-old midfielder, who went viral in Argentina weeks ago for having a statue of Diego Armando Maradona in the courtyard of his home in Italy, played a key role in ball circulation and was one of John McGinn and Scott McTominay’s main partners in central midfield.

His coach, Steve Clarke, publicly expressed his sadness over the loss of one of his trusted players: “I’m devastated for Billy because he has been a fundamental part of our World Cup qualifying campaign. The timing of this injury is very, very cruel and we all feel for him”. He also added that Gilmour “knows what we all think of him as a footballer and as a person” and that “he will have many major tournaments ahead of him in the future.”

To replace him, the Scotland national team called up Tyler Fletcher, a 19-year-old Manchester United Under-21 player and son of Scotland great Darren Fletcher. He had already come on against Curaçao in place of the injured midfielder and will take his spot on the final squad list, subject to FIFA approval.

The withdrawal adds to other major absences confirmed before the tournament, such as Rodrygo and Éder Militão (Brazil), Fermín López (Spain), and Hugo Ekitiké (France). Scotland will make its debut on June 13 against Haiti and will then complete its Group C campaign against Morocco and the Seleção.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.