During the dispute, which lasted four months, Reilly took a job outwith football to support his family. The SFA brokered a compromise that allowed Reilly to resume playing, while retaining his other income. Reilly continued to score goals frequently after he returned to the Hibs side, and he featured in the side that participated in the first season of the European Cup. Injuries were beginning to make his appearances more intermittent, with a knee injury forcing his retirement from the game in 1958. He made his final Scotland appearance against England in 1957, but failed to score at Wembley for the first time. His last appearance for Hibs came in April 1958, when he scored in a 2–1 win against Rangers. Later that year he was finally given a testimonial match, but was prevented from playing in it due to SFA regulations. Reilly won a total 38 caps for Scotland, scoring 22 goals. He is Hibernian's most capped player and is fourth in the list of goalscorers for the Scotland national team. He also boasts an international strike rate of 61%, greater than that of Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law and Joe Jordan, and second only to that of Hughie Gallacher amongst those capped more than 15 times. Late goals against Northern Ireland and England in the 1953 British Home Championship meant that Reilly earned the nickname of "Last-minute Reilly". Reilly also scored 14 goals in as many appearances for the Scottish League XI. Reilly died in July 2013, aged 84. In August 2019, his two Scottish league championship medals were sold at auction for £12,000. "Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first."