Stricken star is Townsend’s main concern

GLASGOW WARRIORS head coach Gregor Townsend last night said his thoughts were with standoff Finn Russell, who was rushed to hospital with a bad head injury and a facial knock after a collision with his team-mate Zander Fagerson.

Concern over the Scotland internationalist overshadowed the semifinal loss to Connacht, which left Townsend hugely disappointed as his side’s chance to defend their title was dashed.

The Warriors boss said everybody was concerned about the welfare of his No10, who was forced off in the first minute after attempting to tackle Connacht’s Bundee Aki.

After receiving five minutes of treatment on the pitch from SRU doctor James Robson, during which time he received oxygen, Russell was rushed to the local hospital in Galway where he was expected to be detained overnight.

‘It was an unfortunate incident, a freak one,’ said Townsend. ‘It was a bad head injury and he was also hit in the face and had to have oxygen, too.

‘We are concerned for Finn and he is in hospital. We will know more about his condition later.’

Townsend said losing his playmaker so early in the match had been a huge blow, but was critical of his side for not adapting to the loss of their star player.

‘Finn has been our starting No10 for a long time, and it was a concern he had to come off so early,’ said Townsend. ‘By the same token, you have to adapt to change and we did not do that as well as we could have.

‘I felt Duncan Weir did well when he came on for Finn, but we did not do enough to win that game.’

Connacht head coach Pat Lam also expressed his concern for Russell.

‘We all hope he will be OK as he is a top player, and we pass on our wishes,’ said Lam.

Townsend said he was frustrated at the loss, which left players Stuart Hogg and Weir in tears.

‘This is the end of the season and we have been left hugely disappointed,’ he said. ‘We believed we could come here and win but we came up short.

‘Obviously it was always going to be tough to win an away semi-final, but with the playing group we have and the work we put in we believed we could win.’