The withdrawal of the injured Lyndon Dykes leaves Scotland manager Steve Clarke with only two recognised centre-forwards in his 27-man provisional squad for Euro 2024.
Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams are the only two out-and-out strikers in the party, which must be cut to 26 a week before Euro 2024 kicks off.
Here are five contenders should Clarke decided to call up another attacker:
Tommy Conway
Carrying on where he left off 🔥@BristolCity's hero of the reverse leg Tommy Conway is at it again! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ns0zyJ7yWl
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 16, 2024
The Bristol City striker is in the Scotland Under-21 squad, who face away games against Turkey and Austria in the coming days. The 21-year-old has scored in each of his past two appearances for Scot Gemmill’s side and hit 12 goals for his club this season, including two against West Ham to knock the Premier League side out of the FA Cup. Conway has pace, power and aerial ability and the Taunton-born forward is committed to the cause – he recently revealed plans to travel to Germany as a fan if he did not make Clarke’s squad.
Ross Stewart
The former Ross County striker won his first two caps off the bench in June 2022 against Armenia and Republic of Ireland. His international career looked set to take off after hitting 26 goals in his first full season with Sunderland, but he has been injured for the bulk of the past two campaigns. He managed 10 goals in 13 Championship games with Sunderland before rupturing his Achilles. Southampton still signed him in a big-money move, but a hamstring injury confined him to four substitute appearances this season. Two of those were in May, though, and his height could help replace some of the attributes of Dykes.
Kevin Nisbet
The Millwall striker played in all three games in the delayed Euro 2020 after scoring against Netherlands in a warm-up but has only made one international appearance since 2021. He missed much of 2022 with a knee injury and, although he soon rediscovered his prolific form with Hibernian, his move to south London has not been an immediate success. The 27-year-old scored five times in his first season in England and has only played once since January because of a hamstring injury.
Ryan Hardie
The 27-year-old former Rangers and Livingston player has scored more than 60 goals for Plymouth after initially joining on loan from Blackpool in 2020. Hardie, who won 30 caps at youth level, hit 13 goals for Argyle in the Championship last season but did not find the net in his last 12 games as his team narrowly avoided relegation.
Simon Murray
🔥 Simon Murray netted his second of the afternoon with this fantastic finish, securing us 3 points! pic.twitter.com/z0fcDKtOd9
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) March 16, 2024
The Ross County forward would be a wildcard but is in form after hitting 23 goals this season, including two in the play-off final against Raith Rovers to help keep his side in the top flight. The 32-year-old former Dundee United and Hibernian forward offers energy, work rate and finishing prowess.