Russell’s injury is a concern for Scots
FINN RUSSELL has become Scotland’s latest injury scare ahead of the Six Nations’ opener with Wales. The world-class fly-half has had to pull out of Glasgow Warriors’ Champions Cup dead-rubber against Leinster in Dublin tomorrow with a shoulder problem.
And despite assurances from head coach Dave Rennie that he should be ready to play against Exeter Chiefs next weekend, Gregor Townsend will be worried his chief playmaker has been sidelined just three weeks before the trip to Cardiff.
Russell’s fellow Lions Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Greig Laidlaw are already facing a race against time to be fit for the big Championship curtain-raiser on February 3.
‘Finn’s had a dodgy shoulder for a number of weeks,’ revealed Rennie yesterday.
‘He was close to not starting against Edinburgh a few weeks ago. He’s been rehabbing that shoulder.
‘We think this is the best option for him not to play him against Leinster but we’re confident he’ll be right next week.’
Townsend will want to include all four players in his training squad to be named on Tuesday and they will be given rigorous workouts to prove their match sharpness.
Glasgow boss Rennie hoped to have Hogg on the bench against Leinster but he failed a fitness test.
The full-back, who hasn’t played since pulling out of the Australia match at Murrayfield in November, recently insisted he would be ready to ‘rock and roll’ against Wales.
But Hogg has been struggling with a hip problem, while Rennie also revealed he’s had a scan on an injured foot.
‘The plan was for him to play but he’s not quite right, so maybe next week against Exeter,’ said Rennie. ‘Stuart had a little bit of an issue with a foot as well as his hip. He had a scan but it still looks good.
‘The plan was to bring him off the bench this week and start him next week but he’s still not quite right.
‘We’re pretty confident about next week though as, although he is close, we didn’t want to push him.
‘He hasn’t got the amount of running in we would have liked, so we will give him one more week.’ Seymour has been ruled out of tomorrow’s trip to Dublin after missing the last three games with a foot injury. Rennie hopes he will also be available for next weekend’s Champions Cup match but there is no guarantee. Laidlaw has been recovering from the leg break he suffered playing for Clermont last October and the French club say he should be available for selection within the next week and a half. Whether he gets any game time before the Six Nations remains to be seen. There are also question marks over whether Glasgow trio Alex Dunbar, Ryan Wilson and Fraser Brown will make the Wales game as they recover from a foot injury, ankle problem and recurring concussion respectively. On a more positive note for Glasgow and Scotland, hooker George Turner returns to the side tomorrow after suspension. Banned for four weeks after pushing Montpellier captain Louis Picamoles in the back in an off-the-ball incident at Scotstoun, he starts for the Warriors in Dublin and will be understudy to Edinburgh’s Stuart McInally against Wales.
‘We are no clearer over when Fraser Brown will be back yet,’ added Rennie.
‘Although he’s back doing a lot of training, we’re keeping him out of contact.
‘It’s great to have George back. He realises he made an error in being sent off and he has been severely punished for it.
‘He’s a hell of an athlete. He’s aggressive, and probably one of our most dominant tacklers.
‘That’s going to be important going into a game against a side that’s very good at looking after the ball and want to take us on up front.’
Although Glasgow’s European dream is over for another year, Rennie is looking for a good performance against a Leinster side he describes as ‘one of the best in Europe’.
‘This is a good test and there are a number of young fellas who have the opportunity to make a statement,’ he said.
‘You have to get excited about taking on one of the best sides in Europe, in this competition, across in Dublin. We’ll go there and have a crack. We certainly won’t be lying down.’