Paul McGinn: Hibs defender called into Scotland squad after trio of call-offs

Hibs defender Paul McGinn has been called into the Scotland squad after three players pulled out ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Austria on Tuesday night at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.

Paul McGinn has been called into the Scotland squad

Ryan Fraser of Newcastle United, Rangers right-back Nathan Patterson, and Norwich City midfielder Kenny McLean have all pulled out of the squad with the 30-year-old the only player to be added to the pool, where he joins Easter Road team-mate Kevin Nisbet.

The Hibs vice-captain was previously brought in to Steve Clarke’s squad in October 2020 after a string of injury and coronavirus-related call-offs and took his place in the matchday squad for the Nations League double-header against Slovakia and the Czech Republic, although he was an unused substitute in both matches alongside club colleague Ryan Porteous.

Motherwell full-back Stephen O’Donnell is likely to start in place of Patterson as right wing-back in Clarke’s favoured 3-5-2 formation with McGinn named on the bench.

The Hibs man is capable of playing centrally in a back three or as a right-back in a four and while he hasn’t often fulfilled a wing-back position in green and white his attacking qualities make him a good fit for that role if required.

Meanwhile, Hibs trio Josh Doig, Daniel Mackay, and James Scott could feature for the Under-21s in their opening European Championship qualifier in Turkey on Tuesday afternoon.

Scotland squad to face Austria: Craig Gordon, Zander Clark, Liam Kelly; Stephen O’Donnell, Paul McGinn, Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, Declan Gallagher, Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson; John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, David Turnbull, Callum McGregor, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Christie; Che Adams, Kevin Nisbet, Lyndon Dykes.

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