17 minutes ago
Sean McGill, ` Sport Scotland
There are just 115 days until Scotland start the European Championships against hosts Germany… not that we're counting or anything.
The closer the big day gets, the more intense the talk is about who will get a seat on the plane. Every game, every goal and every faux pas can mean the difference between playing against the best on the continent in the summer or watching from your sofa.
We take a look back at the weekend's action to see who rushed to get in and who looks like they might miss their departure.
image source, Getty Images
There's never a good time for a player to get injured, but with the prospect of their country's elimination from a major tournament looming, no one wants to miss out on anything in the next few months.
Unfortunately for Jacob Brown, he will be sidelined for the “foreseeable future” after Luton Town manager Rob Edwards confirmed on Tuesday morning that the striker has undergone surgery for a knee cartilage problem.
His absence is only likely to increase calls for Scottish Premiership top scorer Lawrence Shankland to be included in this summer's squad. His header against Motherwell on Saturday was his 25th goal of the season for Hearts, having failed to score in just one of the Tynecastle side's last 11 league games. Yes, that's a man in shape.
Another attacking option currently on the list of possible players is Ryan Fraser, who is enjoying a bit of a career resurgence in the English Championship with Southampton. His beautiful volley in Friday's win over West Brom – scored from a wonderful cross from Stuart Armstrong – scored his eighth goal of the season. With his international future looking uncertain, Fraser continues to push his name into the conversation week after week.
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Time for a tour of the rest of the Scottish hopefuls plying their trade south of the border.
Billy Gilmour continues to impress for European champions Brighton, putting in a confident performance in his side's 5-0 win over 10-man Sheffield United. A pass rate of 97% for the young midfielder. Not bad.
Norwich City certainly have confidence in their Tartan Army squad as goalkeeper Angus Gunn lined up behind a centre-back pairing of Grant Hanley and Kenny McLean in the 4-1 win over Cardiff City.
Back in the top flight, veteran Matt Ritchie turned up and scored Newcastle United's late equalizer in a 2-2 draw against Ryan Christie's Bournemouth. Anthony Gordon had earlier missed a penalty for the Magpies and Harvey Barnes also stormed around on the wing. It's worth pointing out again that both are entitled to wear the navy blue…
image source, Getty Images
There is only one starting point for our tour of the continental part of Squad Watch, and that is a jump across the North Sea to Denmark. Scott McKenna put in a confident performance on his league debut for champions Copenhagen, who moved into second place in the Superliga with a 3-0 win at Silkeborg.
Further south in Italy, Josh Doig continued his run in a Sassuolo team that lost 3-0 to Atalanta, while Lewis Ferguson's Bologna boosted their chances of Champions League football next season with a comeback win at Lazio .
Meanwhile, in northern Spain, Kieran Tierney is preparing for a return to action with Real Sociedad. Conveniently, you can find out more about how the left-back is recovering – and how important he is to Steve Clarke – on Tuesday's Scottish Football podcast.
Don't say we aren't good to you!
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