Zander Fagerson faces a major sweat on his chances of touring the British and Irish Lions in Australia after emerging that he could be sidelined until the sooner.
The propeller of Glasgow Tighthesad, who underwent a calf injury in the period of the URC match last week with Zebre, is part of a series of upper international in Scotland who are fighting to prove their physical shape before the announcement of the Andy Farrell Lions team in fifteen days on May 8.
The Warriors head coach Franco Smith admitted Thursday that Fagerson could still recover in time to be available for the tour, which starts the Western force in Perth on June 28 before the first of the three tests against the Wallabies take place in Brisbane on July 19.
It would be the tightest of reversals, however, with its recovery time which should take between 10 and 12 weeks.
There had been a general expectation that the tour of this year would include the largest contingent of Scottish ever selected for the duty of Lions.
But seven starters of Scotland established with real aspirations of being named in the team have been denied a clear series of games to prove their form and their physical shape.
Zander Fagerson seems to be sidelined until the least June, which will give him little time to recover for the lions tour in Australia
The Glasgow Fagerson star was one of the few Scottish almost some of his inclusion in the Squad lions but could now miss
Franco Smith said on Friday that Fagerson’s injury can take 10 to 12 weeks of recovery
Glasgow Fagerson players, his brother Matt, Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones, Jack Dempsey and Scott Cummings, as well as the Edinburgh wing Duhan Van derrwe, are currently at various stadiums of significant layoffs.
Zander’s situation is perhaps the most worrying since it would be considered a certainty for the inclusion of the Lions.
Offering a fitness update Thursday, the boss of Glasgow Smith said: “ We will aim to prepare him (Fagerson) to play again for rugby, let’s hope it before the final (URC qualifiers), so if we are there, it will be good to be able to rely on him.
“But, you know, it’s an injury of 10 to 12 weeks, so we will just have to hold our thumbs and see how it is progressing.”
When asked if he thought that the injury would have an impact on the involvement of the Fagerson Lions, Smith said: “I can’t know it, but I don’t think this injury would prevent it from being available.”
Smith is convinced that the Scottish captain Tuipulotu and his colleague Jones – both starters from potential tests for the Lions – will come back for the Glasgow URC match in Benetton on May 10, two days after the announcement of the Farrell team.
Tuipulotu has been sidelined for more than three months with a pectoral injury that held him away from the six whole nations, while Jones is absent with an ankle injury from his last outing for Scotland in France on March 15.
“Maybe in a few weeks, I hope Sione will be ready to play against Benetton, the same with Huw,” said Smith.
Smith is convinced that Sione Tuipuloto, above, could come back for the Glasgow Warriors match with Benetton on May 10, two days after the Lions team’s announcement
Scotland star Huw Jones was also in pencil for a return of injury on the same date
Another injured star, the second rower Scott Cummings, should return earlier to action
Matt Fagerson, who would have been considered a limit competitor for a rear berth in the Lions team, is almost sure to miss after having undergone ankle surgery last week.
The second row Cummings – which has been released since he suffered a fracture of the forearm against the Harlequins on January 18 – had a glimmer of hope to force his way in the mixture after being appointed to the Glasgow bench for the match of Friday evening against the bulls, although he did not reach his claim during the six nations can count against him in the last calculation.
Likewise, No8 Dempsey could have done with a good series of matches for the club and the country to strengthen his Lions complaints, but he has not played since his injury to the hamstrings against the Wales in the Six Nations on March 8.
“Jack ran yesterday and we will now progress this and see how he is developing, but he is definitely on the right track to be reviewed this season,” said Smith.
The record of Scotland Try-scoor, Van Der Merwe, which was part of the Lions 2021 team, suffered damage to the ankle ligament during the edinburgh match with Scarlets on March 28 and has since undergone surgery.
Edinburgh’s head coach Sean Everitt said last weekend that he would expect the wing to be back at the end of May, and potentially available for all Urc dam matches that his team could have.
It remains to be seen how all these wounds play in Farrell’s thought, with the lions who should start their summer against Argentina in Dublin on June 20 before heading down later this month. The tour ends with a test against Australia on August 2.
Matt Fagerson remains away after suffering an ankle surgery last week
Jack Dempsey has not played since he suffered an injury to the hamstrings against Wales during the Six Nations
Meanwhile, Smith called his Glasgow players to keep fresh heads while they are preparing to face the Bulls for the first time since their superb final victory for playoffs in Pretoria last June.
The Warriors won the title with a hard victory of 21-16 at Loftus Versfeld 10 months ago, and they meet in Scotstoun on Friday evening in a key battle game to finish in the first two of the URC regulatory table.
“We are delighted,” he said. “It’s going to be a big revenge match. They see it as a revenge match, but we did not explain this motivation for this week.
“It’s more about improving, playing better, keeping an eye on overview and improving our process. We are still playing without people (by injury), so we were a little disjointed with people who entered and left the environment by an injury or adding by injury or with the changes we have made for the Zebre game.
“We can’t wait to start making progress towards the last part of the season tomorrow.
