Hogg has positive news after his scans
STUART Hogg is expected to recover from the hamstring injury sustained in Exeter’s victory over Gloucester before Scotland begin their Six Nations campaign.
Hogg hobbled off just before half-time of Saturday’s 28-20 win at Sandy Park and has undergone a scan that revealed the Lions fullback had suffered muscle tightness only.
Although a major doubt for this weekend’s rematch of the recent Gallagher Premiership final against Wasps, he should take part in the final two rounds of the Champions Cup group stage next month.
“It doesn’t look too bad but he’s a doubt. We are hopeful he will back at the latest in and around Europe,” Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter said.
“It’s like anything in the initial period with these injuries - all the medical people will tell you is the swelling makes people hard to assess. At the moment we are hopeful he will be back - and available to Scotland as well.”
Gloucester were dispatched despite Exeter facing the disruption of an outbreak of coronavirus at Sandy Park that produced a double digit number of positive tests and prevented their team from training together in the build-up.
To avoid another surge in cases, the Chiefs squad have been issued with a reminder of what is required to prevent Covid-19 entering the club environment, although Baxter insists whatever steps are taken there will always be a degree of vulnerability.
“None of us really know how our outbreak got into the club. I can’t say with any certainty how it got in, but it got in somehow,” Baxter said.
“We have redoubled everyone’s awareness. We have gone through the whole education process again.
“We have reconfirmed with everyone that they understand
their responsibilities and what you have to do before you come to the club and when you are here.
“The reality is that it’s impossible with a relatively large group of players to know exactly what each one of them are doing away from the club and how they are maintaining their own individual hygiene routines.
“I don’t mean your basic hygiene, but if you are in a family group with kids it can be as simple as what kit are you wearing into the club, what you change into.
“We talk about bubbles all the time but rugby clubs are only semi-secure bubbles. Players go home to families and you can’t control what every family does.
“Kids still go to school, wives and girlfriends might have to go to work. It is impossible to say there is no one day when the bubble could be breached because it could be breached every day.
“All you can do is reinforce responsibilities about being sensible about who they come into contact with and how they control their own feelings of health and well-being.”
Two of last weekend’s Premiership games were cancelled because of coronavirus, but so far there is no suggestions of the league undergoing a break as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise across the country.
“We’re in a slightly different scenario to the general public in that we’re in a pretty strict testing cycle,” Baxter said.
“There’s an argument for sports teams to be able to carry on, but I also understand the argument for a suspension.
“The scenario going on is too big to just idly argue that everything should carry on as it is, because we’re all aware the situation’s moved beyond that in the health service.”
Meanwhile, Harlequins’ Gallagher Premiership clash at Worcester, due to take place tomorrow night at Sixways Stadium, has been cancelled due to the London club’s inability to field a full front row as a result of contact tracing for coronavirus.