Scotland star set to end 551-day exile and hand Steve Clarke June boost as teammate tipped for Rangers move

Scotland full-back Aaron Hickey is on the verge of returning to first-team action after almost 18-months on the sidelines, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed.

A £17million signing for Brentford back in 2022, the ex-Hearts youngster has endured a nightmare spell with injury after picking up a hamstring injury in a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October 2023, which kept him out of Scotland squad for last year’s European Championships in Germany.

After being expected to miss just a few months with the injury originally, he was dealt a major blow just weeks into his rehab, when he was forced to undergo further surgery to fully repair the tendon in his hamstring in August 2024.

The 22-year-old recently signed a new three-year contract at the Gtech Community Stadium, and has been cautiously stepping up his comeback in recent weeks though, featuring for the Bees B team alongside fellow injury victim Thiago. However, he is now closing in on a return to English Premier League action, with hope renewed that he could be available for Scotland’s friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein next month.

Will Greg Taylor wave goodbye to Celtic this summer? | Getty Images

“Hickey and Thiago are both training fully with the team now,” said Frank. “They have done that for the last couple of trainings. They won’t be ready for Nottingham Forest [on Thursday 1 May], but it’s very positive. Everyone is available from the last game. Fingers crossed for that. When they are training fully with the team, they are definitely close. How close, we will see over the next one to two weeks.”

Meanwhile, one of Hickey’s international teammates has been linked with an eye-catching summer transfer after ex-Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday backed a controversial move for Celtic left-back Greg Taylor to Rangers this summer. The Scotland international is out of contract at the end of the season, and has been loosely linked with a move to Ibrox as his time at Celtic Park seemingly draws to a close.

Speaking on the OpenGoal podcast, Halliday - who currently plays for Motherwell - discussed the potential of Taylor making the move across the city, while he also urged Rangers to have a look at another top performing Scottish Premiership full-back in order to strengthen their defensive options.

”I still think they should sign somebody else,” Halliday said. “I would take James Penrice [from Hearts]. I think he is better than the left-backs they’ve got, I don’t think Penrice gets in above Greg Taylor, though. I think from Rangers’ point of view, and I know it’s hard because you’re signing unknowns, you’re signing players that have never played in the league. If you want to catch Celtic you need to buy players that are better than Celtic’s players, though.

“It’s hard, it’s going to be a long summer. I think you can look at it in a positive sense as well because there is going to be a lot of change. But they’ve got a lot to do to catch Celtic.”