Ross McCrorie is about to compete in a big international competition for the first time after recovering from terrible injury and illness.
Ross McCrorie’s wish has come true: eight months after writhing in pain on a hotel bed as he battled a career-threatening bacterial infection, the Bristol City defender has been chosen to Steve Clarke’s provisional Scotland squad for Euro 2024.
However, Tommy Conway, a Robins teammate, is not included in the group, with several commentators north of the border predicting that the striker will be a wildcard inclusion due to Clarke’s limited offensive options. The Scotland manager has picked uncapped Liverpool teenager Ben Doak ahead of Conway, who has been a fixture in the Under-21 squad for the past 18 months.
McCrorie has been added to the 28-man squad, with usual right-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson both ruled out due to hamstring ailments. The 26-year-old has been called up before, to last summer’s training camp in Spain, but has yet to play at senior level despite being capped at every level from Under-15 to Under-21.
Clarke must reduce the group to 26 by June 7 before Scotland’s championship opener against Germany on June 14 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Scotland has been put in Group A alongside the hosts, Hungary, and Switzerland, and will play pre-tournament friendlies against Gibraltar on Monday, June 3, and Finland on Friday, June 7.
It represents a significant turnaround in McCrorie’s fortunes and a testament to his character, as he suffered a bacterial infection in his pelvis shortly after joining City for pre-season last summer after signing from Aberdeen, necessitating surgery and keeping him out of action for nearly six months.
After breaking into the Robins’ starting lineup in January, the former Rangers academy product appeared in 22 games under Liam Manning, playing right-back, right wing-back, and right-sided centre-back in a three-man defence.
McCrorie has previously mentioned that the prospect of making the Scotland squad at the end of the season was a consistent motivating factor for him as he underwent rehab at the start of the campaign.
“I was disappointed not to get in the March squad but I had to be realistic with myself, I had only come back a month prior. But Scotland is a major motivation to get to the Euros,” McCrorie said in April.
“It’s never guaranteed if Scotland will get into a finals again, hopefully there’s many more to come but you want to try and grab an opportunity if it arises and hopefully I can keep putting in the performances and you never know, anything can happen.”
If McCrorie reaches the final team, it will disrupt his pre-season for City, which he was also denied last summer due to sickness. If Scotland is eliminated in the group stage, his tournament will end on June 23, and with a fortnight’s break, the defender would not return to Bristol until the second week of July, around a month before the 2024/25 season begins. However, if Scotland advances to the knockout stage, the dates will be pushed back even more.
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