Aaron Hickey Euro 2024 chances rated as Thomas Frank delivers truth to Brentford ace and former Hearts star

Thomas Frank won’t write Aaron Hickey out of Euro 2024 - but he concedes the former Hearts star’s chances aren’t looking entierly positive.

The full-back hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for the Bees since October and is one of many mounting injury concerns for Steve Clarke ahead of flying to Germany. Nathan Patterson’s season at Everton is over after a hamstring blow and Bologna’s Lewis Ferguson is out of the tournament after knee surgery.

Stuart Armstrong and Kieran Tierney have also suffered injury as a plentiful Scotland squad is decimated in numbers. Hickey broke onto the scene at Hearts at 16 under Craig Levein and left for Bologna in 2020, now with Brentford who he joined in 2022.

A lack of minutes won’t aid his cause for involvement at the Euros but Hickey could be thrown into the deep end with so few options available to Clarke at right-back, if he passes fit.

Brentford boss Frank isn’t expecting back in his Premier League fold before the end of May, and while he doesn’t have high hopes for Hickey’s chances of playing in Germany this summer, it is not something he wants to rule out entirely. Frank said: “He's progressing.

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“As he's been out for so long I’m not counting on him playing this season but let’s see what happens in the next weeks - right now I’m not expecting it. I guess it's not fantastic (for his Euros chances) but that’s not for me to judge”