Scott McTominay allays Scotland Euro 2024 fears as Manchester United midfielder reveals extent of knee injury

Scotland hero limped off against Burnley on Saturday after “awkward” slip

Scotland manager Steve Clarke breathed a sigh of relief last night after it emerged Scott McTominay’s knee injury was not as bad as first feared.

The Manchester United midfielder had given Clarke as well as the Tartan Army cause for concern when falling awkwardly during his side’s 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday after coming on a second-half substitute.

Online reports yesterday suggested McTominay could be missing for several months but the player himself took to Instagram to allay such fears and confirm that he had suffered a knee hyperextension.

Scotland's Scott McTominay has soothed fans' fears about the extent of his knee problem prior to Euro 2024 (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

“Nothing serious,” the 27-year-old wrote, adding that he hoped to be back “soon” to help his teammates. The player experienced the same problem earlier this month in the 4-3 defeat against Chelsea and missed United’s next two games.

A similar period of absence looks in prospect again and he sounded confident about returning to first-team action before the end of the season. The way McTominay beat the pitch in distress on Saturday as he was being treated had suggested that he feared it was more serious.

“I slipped and fell awkward on my knee similar to against Chelsea,” he wrote yesterday evening. “Nothing serious just hyperextension but I was angry and upset that I thought it was worse than it was. Hoping to be back on the pitch very soon to help the team as much as I can.”

Scotland can ill-afford to be without McTominay this summer amid several other injury concerns involving key players. The midfielder is central to Clarke’s plans and was recently named international player of the year after finishing Scotland’s top scorer in a successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, including striking twice in a 2-0 win over Spain.

He will, though, have to be treated with caution and Clarke will hope Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag does not rush the player back into action. The Old Trafford side have five matches left to play, including the FA Cup final against Manchester City on 25 May

Scotland open Euro 2024 against Germany less than three weeks later on 14 June. Midfielder Lewis Ferguson has already been ruled out with a serious knee injury and there are concerns around Aaron Hickey, Nathan Paterson, Grant Hanley, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Jack and Jacob Brown.