Duhan van der Merwe return to play date unclear as rehab continues

Edinburgh's Duhan van der Merwe injured his ankle while playing against the Dragons. | SNS Group

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt said he is unable to give an exact date on when Duhan van der Merwe will be available again as concerns continue around the Scotland winger’s ankle injury.

The British & Irish Lions squad will be named next week for the summer tour of Australia and a fully fit van der Merwe would almost certainly be included. He may yet be chosen by Lions coach Andy Farrell but he is unlikely to be available for Edinburgh until the end of next month.

He has not played since coming off in the early stages of Edinburgh’s home win over the Dragons on March 28.

Edinburgh's Duhan van der Merwe injured his ankle while playing against the Dragons. | SNS Group

“Duhan just continues to rehab,” said Everitt. “His return to play date is still the same. We can't give an exact date because we don't know how he's going to respond when he's on the field. But if you look at the later part of May, he should be back.”

Van der Merwe, Scotland’s all-time record try-scorer, was a key member of the Lions’ last tour, to South Africa in 2021, playing in all three Test matches.

Duhan van der Merwe played for the British & Irish Lions in the series against South Africa in 2021. | Getty Images

Farrell will name his squad for the tour at a public event at the O2 arena in London on May 8. The Lions will play Argentina in Dublin on June 20 before travelling to Australia for the three-Test tour. Their first game on Australian soil is against Western Force in Perth on June 28.

Van der Merwe will miss Edinburgh's EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final against Bath this weekend and would be touch and go for the final in Cardiff on May 23 were Edinburgh to make it through.