CAROLINE WEIR marked her return to the Scotland squad after almost a year sidelined through injury by leading them into the play-off final for next summer's European Championships.

The Dunfermline-born midfielder captained the national side, in the absence of Rachel Corsie, in both legs of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 play-off with Hungary and led them to a 5-0 aggregate victory, setting up a tie with Finland for a place at the finals in Switzerland.

Real Madrid star Caroline, a former Dunfermline High School pupil, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee whilst representing her country in a draw with Belgium, last September, at Hampden.

She returned to training earlier this year and, last month, returned to playing action for her club, marking the occasion by scoring twice in a 5-0 league win over Espanyol.

READ MORE: Caroline Weir earns Scotland recall after injury recovery

The 29-year-old was recalled to the squad by head coach, Pedro Martinez Losa, for the crucial fixtures with the Hungarians, who said it was "emotional" to welcome her back into the fold.

Prior to the games, Caroline told the Scotland National Team's social media channels: "It feels amazing to be back.

"I've been looking forward to this for the last couple of weeks.

"I've had my eye on these fixtures way back when I first got injured. It felt like such a long time away, but here we are.

"I'm just so happy to be back with the team, in Scotland as well, wearing the tracksuit - it feels great."

"It's been tough.

"Unfortunately, such a long injury, such a long process, many ups and downs, but I feel fortunate that I had lots of good people around me and the rehab went as smoothly as it possibly could have gone up to this point.

"I'm just really enjoying being back, training and playing matches, and to represent Scotland, that is the highlight for me.

"To miss out on a year of Scotland games was really tough, but the team's really grown in that time. I can see that.

"I was watching the games and I feel like, coming into this camp, massive games, but I feel like we're ready for them."

Scotland travelled to Budapest for the first leg with the Hungarians on Friday and returned home with a 1-0 advantage, thanks to a goal from Martha Thomas.

Following that match, Martinez Losa stated that there was "no way" his team were going to lose the return at Easter Road, the home of Hibernian, the club that the former Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City star started her career with.

The Scots made the perfect start when Sam Kerr's shot off the underside of the bar found the net via goalkeeper, Lauren Brzykcy, before Erin Cuthbert's deflected shot doubled their lead before the break.

Early in the second half, Caroline crowned her return to the Scotland fold by latching on to a clever Thomas back heel to score her 18th international goal in 104 caps, before Thomas completed a 4-0 win on the night.

Scotland will now host Finland, again at Easter Road, on November 29, before the return leg on December 3.