Conway has been one of the younger forwards pushing to stay in the national-team picture. He appears to have offered Clarke a different profile: mobile, sharp around the box and capable of fitting into a front line that often relies on work-rate as much as finishing.
If the report is accurate, the problem is not only the injury itself but the calendar.
That creates pressure on selection, not just sympathy for the player.
If Conway is unavailable, the established names move to the front. Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes and Lawrence Shankland have all been part of the wider debate around Scotland's attack, and each gives Clarke something slightly different.
There is also a case for form.
None of those options is a like-for-like replacement. That may be the real issue. Clarke might not simply replace Conway; he may need to rebalance the whole forward group.
Tournament squads are about reliability. Coaches tend to trust players who are fit, available and already clear on their role. If there is uncertainty over Conway's condition, Clarke may decide certainty matters more than potential.
The next key moment is the squad announcement. Between now and the game with Haiti, the main storyline will be whether Conway recovers quickly enough - or whether Scotland head into the World Cup with a reshaped attack.