Everton defender Nathan Patterson has been selected for Scotland's upcoming internationals against Cyprus and Spain.
The 21-year-old has suffered an injury-hit first full season with the Blues, which has restricted him to just 13 Premier League appearances, his last coming at the beginning of January against Brighton.
Patterson has since been sidelined by a knee ligament injury, but he has enjoyed recent runouts for Paul Tait's U21s in their Premier League 2 and Premier League International Cup campaigns as he closes in on a first-team return. And on Tuesday, Scotland manager Steve Clarke named his squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers at Hampden Park with the Everton full-back among the ranks.
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The call-up for Patterson could raise concern for the Blues after the former Rangers defender picked up an ankle injury on his last selection for the Tartan Army. It came during the UEFA Nations League clash with Ukraine in September when he was stretchered off.
He recovered ahead of the World Cup, making two appearances from the start and two from the bench, but just start after the start of the new year, he picked up the new injury in the 4-1 home loss to Brighton. Scans later revealed that the prognosis was medial knee ligaments.
It's been a difficult start to life on Merseyside for Patterson, who did begin the 2022-23 campaign as Everton's first-choice right-back and was particularly impressive in the derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park. He also required surgery in April 2022 after rolling his ankle in training for the Blues.
"Patto [Patterson] is a little bit behind but he played 70 minutes last night. (James) Garner is a little bit closer," said new Everton boss Sean Dyche last week after the right-back's outing against PSV Eindhoven in the Premier League International Cup.
"He was a threat and had a chance in both halves," Tait added when asked about Patterson's performance. "It’s another chance for him and James Garner to get minutes under their belts and get them closer to first-team action."
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