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John McGinn says the fear of missing the World Cup with Scotland was immediate after a knee injury in January, yet the midfielder recovered in time, returned for Aston Villa in Europe, and is now involved in the final preparation games.

The Aston Villa captain left the pitch in the first half of the defeat to Everton and then faced an anxious wait for scan results, knowing Scotland’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years is approaching at a tournament staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Scotland are building towards this summer’s World Cup finals, where Steve Clarke’s squad will meet Brazil, Morocco and Haiti in a challenging group, while also finishing their warm-up schedule with a friendly against Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 31 March 2026.

Before facing Ivory Coast, McGinn reflected on that January setback and admitted the initial concern centred on missing the World Cup, as medical staff warned of a possible six-to-eight-week lay-off, although the 29-year-old eventually returned slightly ahead of schedule after six weeks.

McGinn had gone off against Everton after blocking a pass early in the match, experienced discomfort straight away, then thought about other professionals who had serious knee damage yet still walked from the field, which increased personal concern that a major injury might follow.

“I was scared, McGinn told BBC Scotland. I remember right away feeling, oh this isn’t right. It was 10, 15 minutes into the game, I blocked a pass against Everton and I knew right away, so my hand goes up and obviously I’ve known experienced players who have done serious knee injuries six months plus feeling able to walk off. I was petrified really, but then you get the scan and you wait and thankfully it was good news that it was only a minor knee injury. The knee obviously reacts in different ways to surgery, but it could have been a lot, lot worse. It was expected to be six to eight weeks. Managed to come back in six weeks.

After the medical clearance, McGinn quickly rediscovered form, scoring in consecutive matches for Aston Villa against Lille in the Europa League and West Ham in domestic competition, then starting for Scotland in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Japan ahead of the final pre-World Cup test.

Scotland’s squad now focus on Ivory Coast in their last warm-up, with training at Barclays Hampden highlighted on social media as Clarke assesses options and game rhythm before heading to the World Cup, where McGinn is expected to play a central midfield role.

With the scan having shown only minor damage and recovery completed on schedule, McGinn now approaches the World Cup with Scotland having overcome that earlier fear, contributed recent goals for Aston Villa and gained further international minutes against Japan before facing Ivory Coast.

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