Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey officially OUT of Euro 2024 as Steve Clarke forced to get creative

Scotland's assistant coach John Carver has confirmed that both Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey have been ruled out of Euro 2024 through injury.

On Wednesday afternoon, boss Steve Clarke will name his 26-man squad for the finals in Germany, which will be preceded by warm-up friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland. But two players that the national team gaffer will definitely be without is full backs Patterson and Hickey who have been unable to recover from their respective injuries in time for the finals.

Former Rangers youngster Patterson has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury last month while Brentford defender Hickey hasn't featured since last October after picking up a similar problem. The setback has left Scotland lacking numbers in the right-wing back department, with Celtic duo Anthony Ralston and James Forrest now looking likely to fill the void left by Patterson and Hickey.

It comes just weeks after Bologna star Lewis Ferguson was also ruled out of the tournament, with the ex-Aberdeen midfielder not expected to play again this year. And speaking to STV Sport ahead of Wednesday's announcement, Carver is hopeful that the team can still go into the finals with confidence despite the trio of injuries. He said: “You can also throw Nathan Patterson from Everton into that as well.

"It’s three big players for us (including Lewis Ferguson) and three players who have done extremely well for us in the qualifiers and in recent times. The good thing is they are three young lads who hopefully have World Cups and Euros to come in the future, so we won’t forget about them.

"They have done a great job for us but it’s obviously someone else’s opportunity now because those guys won’t be with us. It’s no good worrying about it, we can’t affect it, so we have to be positive and the guys coming in will be competitive and this is an opportunity for them.”