Hibs defender Paul McGinn on verge of Scotland call-up to Steve Clarke's squad for Czech Republic and Slovakia matches

Paul McGinn has been in good form alongside a strong Hibs defence this season (Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Steve Clarke is poised to turn to Hibernian defender Paul McGinn to solve his defensive selection issues for Scotland’s upcoming matches with Slovakia and Czech Republic.

Liam Palmer and Scott McKenna have both pulled out of the squad through injury while Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney has been forced out of contention by Stuart Armstrong’s positive coronavirus test.

The former Celtic man, along with midfielder Ryan Christie, were identified as close contacts of Armstrong and told to self-isolate for two weeks.

Those withdrawals have left Clarke’s squad light at the back and he is expected to turn to one of Hibs’ stand-out performers this season as a solution, according to The Scottish Sun.

The call-up would potentially pair him with Easter Road team-mate Ryan Porteous, and see him join his brother John, now of Aston Villa, in the national team squad.

But it comes too late to be involved in tonight’s game. Scotland face Israel at Hampden in the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final, with kick-off at 7.45pm.