SIONE RETURN A HUGE BOOST FOR WARRIORS
HARLEQUINS V GLASGOW
TONIGHT, 8PM, TNT SPORTS
SIONE TUIPULOTU is back in the Glasgow side to take on Harlequins tonight in the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
But hooker George Turner could be out for the next two months after breaking a bone in his foot.
Scotland centre Tuipulotu has not played since injuring a knee in the Six Nations win over England at the end of February. But he has been targeting the knockout match at the Twickenham Stoop for his comeback.
And Warriors coach Franco Smith said: “I’m very excited to have Sione back. It was always going to be touch and go.
“It does allow us to think a little bit differently in certain roles here so it comes at the right time.
“I wouldn’t have selected him if he was an injury risk. It’s not a return to play here, it’s a return to perform. That was the reason I was reluctant to involve him last week.”
Smith revealed Turner, first-choice hooker for Glasgow and Scotland, played a match before he knew he had broken a bone. He said: “George is going to be out for a long time – six to eight weeks and maybe even longer.
“He came back from the Six Nations injured. He had a scan about 10 days ago and they found a little hair fracture in his foot.
“He played the last game against Ireland with that foot already injured, so it’s going to take a while before we see him. Sometimes players think it’s just a bruise and it develops into something more, especially those small hairline and stress fractures. It’s overuse.
“You cope and then when you have the scan it’s diagnosed then obviously the picture changes.”
Harlequins can blow hot and cold from week to week, sometimes even in the same game. They were thumped 52-7 by Saracens a fortnight ago then bounced back last week to beat Finn Russell’s Bath 40-36 – but only after nearly throwing away a 40-3 half-time lead.
But Smith said: “I know they will produce their best performance – I have no doubt about that – and they will have learned lessons from the last two or three weeks. So no unpredictability from them, we know what they’re capable of and that is what we’ve prepared for.
“They are a capable side with a strong maul and set-piece driven, so it’s a tough task ahead.
“We must travel there in the right frame of mind. It will be about how we can be the best version of ourselves.”
If Glasgow win they face either Bordeaux away or Saracens at home in next weekend’s quarter-finals.