Tyler Fletcher earns Scotland World Cup call-up after Gilmour's knee injury

Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher has been called up to Scotland’s World Cup squad after Billy Gilmour was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury sustained in Saturday’s friendly against Curacao. The Scottish FA confirmed Fletcher’s inclusion as the squad prepared to fly to the United States.

Gilmour, who plays his club football for Napoli, was injured in the first half of Scotland’s final home fixture before the tournament. Manager Steve Clarke had four players under consideration for a late call-up — Fletcher, Rangers midfielder Conor Barron, Andy Irving of Sparta Prague, and Udinese’s Lennon Miller — but Fletcher’s presence in the squad camp this week gave him the edge.

“Those three are on standby, and obviously Tyler joined us this week,” Clarke said after the Curacao match. “He’s trained well this week, so he’s a little bit closer than the other three, but I’d need to have a big discussion with my staff and decide the best way to go.”

Fletcher made his senior Scotland debut in that same friendly, capping a rapid rise that has drawn considerable attention north of the border. The 18-year-old is the son of Darren Fletcher, who earned 80 caps for Scotland during his playing career and now manages Manchester United’s Under-18s side. Tyler’s twin brother Jack has represented England’s youth teams.

At club level, Fletcher made his United debut against Tottenham in February and was handed minutes by Michael Carrick on the final day of the Premier League season against Brighton. He also picked up the Denzil Haroun Player of the Year Award — an honour previously claimed by Nicky Butt, Michael Keane, Adnan Januzaj, Axel Tuanzebe, and Alvaro Fernandez.

Scotland open their World Cup campaign against Haiti on June 14 and are drawn in a group alongside Brazil and Morocco. The tournament begins on June 11.