New York Red Bulls midfielder Lewis Morgan received a late call-up into Scotland’s injury-hit European Championship squad on Thursday and will miss a stretch of the Major League Soccer season.
The Scottish soccer federation said the 27-year-old Morgan was selected by coach Steve Clarke.
Morgan has just two previous appearances for Scotland more than six years ago, and he was last called up by Clarke in November 2019 while still a Celtic player.
He then moved to Inter Miami and after two years joined New York ahead of the 2022 season. Morgan could miss at least five MLS games in June during Euro 2024 in Germany.
New York’s loss will be offset by earning about $200,000 from Morgan’s selection. UEFA has a fund of 140 million euros ($152 million) to pay clubs a daily rate for releasing their players to the 24 national teams at Euro 2024.
Scotland needs to add players after losing forward Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak, the 18-year-old Liverpool winger, to injury in the past week. Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson also was ruled out in April by a serious knee injury.
Morgan joins Tommy Conway, an untried forward with English second-tier club Bristol City, in getting late calls ahead of a last warm-up game Friday against Finland in Glasgow.
Scotland plays host Germany in the Euro 2024 opener in Munich on June 14. The Scots then face Hungary and Switzerland as they try to advance to the knockout rounds for the first time at a major tournament.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
