'Not yet': Scotland starlet in injury worry ahead of Greece playoff as boss gives concerning update

Scotland striker Tommy Conway could be facing a race to be fit for the Nations League playoff with Greece in March as the most recent update on a troublesome hamstring injury.

The young forward moved to the Riverside Stadium in the summer for a fee of £5million from Bristol City and has impressed on Teesside, scoring eight goals in his 19 appearances as Middlesbrough occupy fifth place in the English second tier. Conway also made his first start for Scotland earlier in the campaign, with Steve Clarke handed him a place in the starting XI for the 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia in November.

Tommy Conway is set to be out for "a number of weeks". Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

His impressive start has been curtailed recently though, with Conway missing Middlesbrough’s last three games after picking up the injury in the 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and now head coach Michael Carrick has admitted he is still some way from returning to action.

The Teesside head coach made the admission after the 1-1 draw with Cardiff City on Saturday, admitting he is not expecting any of his injured stars to return in time to face fellow EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round this weekend. The Boro boss has a number of injury issues, with goalkeeper Seny Dieng also unavailable since the early December win over Millwall at the Riverside Stadium

"Not particularly," he said, when asked if any of his injured players are likely to return for the third round cup tie. “Seny is back doing some light training at the moment. He’s not yet back with the group, but he’s able to do some stuff as part of his rehab. Tommy is alright, but he’s out for a number of weeks so certainly won’t be back for the game [against Blackburn].”

John McGinn is set to be out for five weeks with a hamstring problem of his own. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

It is the second injury concern Scotland boss Clarke has been given, after key midfielder John McGinn picked up his second hamstring injury of the season in the club’s win over Leicester City over the festive period, leaving Villa head coach Unai Emery to admit: “He could be out for two, three, four, five weeks."

With McGinn out for potential five weeks following another hamstring blow, Clarke will be hoping that he is dealt no more injury concerns, with the Nations League playoff clash against Greece now a little over two months away.