Scotland were dealt a major blow for the upcoming Euro '24 campaign when Lyndon Dykes was injured in training, and subsequently ruled out of Steve Clarke’s 28-man provisional squad.
The forward's stats encompass nine goals in 36 appearances for Scotland, making Dykes an important player in the top half of the field where his physical presence and hold-up play are regular contributors to attacks.
The news was also reported here and confirmed by the Scotland National Team on their X (formerly twitter) page on Saturday, where a statement read: "Following an injury in training yesterday, Lyndon Dykes has been ruled out of the squad for UEFA EURO 2024.
"We’re gutted for you Lyndon, but know you’ll be back in a Scotland shirt soon.
"Wishing you a speedy recovery."
Following an injury in training yesterday, Lyndon Dykes has been ruled out of the squad for UEFA EURO 2024. We’re gutted for you, Lyndon, but know you’ll be back in a Scotland shirt soon. Wishing you a speedy recovery 🏴💙 pic.twitter.com/TtQxdbPT6X
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 1, 2024
The national team have been on a five-game winless streak going into this week's friendly double-header against Gibraltar (Monday, June 3) and Finland (Friday, June 7).
Steve Clarke's men face Gibraltar in the Estadio Algarve in Portugal with only two recognised forwards, Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland in the side, meaning that including at least another striker for the trimmed down Euro’s squad will be a high probability.
The final squad for Germany will have a maximum of 26 players and is due to be announced by the manager on Thursday, June 6, before Scotland play Germany in the opening game on June 14 in the Allianz Arena, Munich.
Here are 5 possible Lyndon Dykes replacements for Scotland in Euro 24.
Ross Stewart
On his game, 27-year-old Stewart has phenomenal finishing qualities, twenty-six goals in Sunderland’s league one promotion season in 2021/22 is testimony to that. This form got him a £9.3 million move to Southampton in 2023 but he’s struggled to rediscover these performance levels, with the majority of his two seasons at St Marys being spent on the treatment table.
Stewart has the physical attributes to replace Dykes and is now back to fitness, but lack of game time and question marks over the injury reappearing could throw doubts over Euro’s selection for him.
Kevin Nisbet
Although only appearing 27 times for Millwall in the Championship due to injury and reported disciplinary problems, the striker still ended last season as top goal scorer for his club with five goals in an extremely competitive league.
There is no doubt that Nisbet can score goals – his 12 goals for Hibernian in the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership campaign shows this – and the hard work and intelligence to his play would also be a big plus for Steve Clarke. Moreover, Nisbet featured in all three of Scotland's Euro 2020 matches.
Lewis Morgan
The former St Mirren and Celtic player has struggled to kick on since his 14 goals at St Mirren Park during the 2017/18 campaign earned him a big move to Celtic Park.
Morgan now plays on the wing with MLS side New York Red Bulls. The 27-year-old has the skill and pace in his locker to be involved, he’s also scored nine goals in the current MLS season. His creativity and goal scoring prowess may have merited the attention of Steve Clarke, but the biggest question mark regarding replacing Lyndon Dykes would surely be tied to his physicality.
Tommy Conway
The aforementioned players are all 27 years old, but as Clarke and the management team have previously done with Ben Doak, it could be worthwhile promoting a young striker that is performing well with Scot Gemmill’s Under 21s.
Tommy Conway is a name that was on everyone’s lips when the preliminary squad was announced. A similar player in style to Lyndon Dykes, Conway links the play very well, has added 10 goals for Bristol City last season in the Championship and has two goals for the Under 21’s from six caps.
Although inexperienced on the national stage, similarities in his play would fit well into the Euros squad and a call up could be just the motivation a young player like Conway needs to kick on and make a name for himself.
Kieron Bowie
21-year-old Bowie is currently on loan at Northampton Town from Fulham, where he has scored 14 goals in 81 games over the last two seasons for the Cobblers. Bowie has also been a consistent performer for Scotland under 21s, scoring three goals in nine appearances since playing his way into Scot Gemmill’s side.
Again, the youngster bears a resemblance to Dykes with his physical style of play, although as his goal against Hungary for the Under 21s shows, he also likes to take on players and excite the crowd.
Bowie has only started games in the Scottish Championship and League One so this may go against him when Clarke picks the final squad. As with Tommy Conway, Bowie definitely looks like a player to keep an eye on.
