The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Scotland star Bennett out for nine to 12 months
Blow for Glasgow and Edinburgh as centre recovers from ACL operation
Glasgow centre Mark Bennett has played his last game for the club after being forced to undergo knee surgery a month on from his Twickenham nightmare.
The Scotland star had only been on the pitch for two minutes during the Dark Blues’ 61-21 RBS 6 Nations thrashing by England when he collapsed to the turf after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament.
Warriors have confirmed Bennett, 24, who will join Edinburgh next season, has had an ACL reconstruction at a Glasgow hospital and is expected to be out of action for between nine to 12 months.
Scotland centre Mark Bennett will be out for up to a year after knee ligament reconstruction surgery, knocking him out of Glasgow’s remaining Guinness Pro12 campaign and dealing a huge blow to Edinburgh’s plans for next season.
Bennett, who moves along the M8 to the capital club at the end of his contract in June, has played his last game for the Warriors as has No 8 Josh Strauss, who it was confirmed yesterday will not feature again this season.
Bennett suffered ACL damage when he came on as a first-half replacement against England at Twickenham during the RBS 6 Nations.
He underwent ACL reconstruction surgery in Glasgow’s MBI Ross Hall hospital and the usual time for recovery is from nine months to a year, meaning it is possible he will miss most if not all of his first season as an Edinburgh player.
It is the second time Bennett has had such an injury. As a teenager he required ACL reconstruction on his left knee when playing for Clermont-Auvergne in France and was out for a year.
Bennett had just re-established himself in the Glasgow side after a late start to the season due to his involvement in the Great Britain sevens side that won a silver medal in the Rio Olympics.
The 24-year-old has scored 21 tries in 66 appearances over five years with the Warriors. He has scored six tries in his 20 caps for Scotland.
Strauss suffered kidney damage in Scotland’s 6 Nations defeat to France in February and has not featured since. Medical staff estimate it will be another six weeks before he is ready to take full contact, and therefore he will not play any further part in Glasgow’s season.
The 30-year-old is set to move to Sale Sharks at the end of the season after five years at Scotstoun, during which he was a captain – skippering the side when they won the Guiness Pro12 final against Munster in Belfast in 2015 – made 104 appearances, and scored 10 tries.
South-African-born Strauss also served his three-year residency period with Glasgow and won his first Scotland cap in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in 2015. The match in Paris was his 11th cap for his adopted country.
Glasgow said both players will be presented before the Scotstoun crowd at the next home game against Zebre to allow fans to say farewell.
Head coach Gregor Townsend, who also departs at the end of this season, said: “We’re disappointed that Mark’s time at the club has come to an end in this way, and it also looks like Josh may not play for us again as he continues his graduated return to training.”