Duhan van der Merwe to miss start of season and back surgery for Scotland hopeful
Edinburgh Rugby name team for pre-season game with Ulster
Edinburgh Rugby have revealed a lengthy injury list ahead of their first pre-season friendly against Ulster at Hive Stadium on Friday evening.
Among the absentees are Duhan van der Merwe, Grant Gilchrist and Paddy Harrison, with the latter being ruled out until next year.
The club had to contend with extensive injury issues throughout last season and the latest bulletin from the club says that 13 players are currently sidelined.
Van der Merwe is out once again with an ankle issue. The Scotland winger missed parts of last season with a similar problem and he will not be fit enough for the start of the new united Rugby Championship campaign which kicks off on September 25.
“He'll be back on the field mid-October,” said Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach.
Conservative approach didn’t work
Harrison, the Scotland international hooker, has not played for Edinburgh since last October due to a back problem. It had been hoped that rest and rehabilitation would be enough to see the 24-year-old return but it was decided in the summer that an operation was required. He is expected to be available again in January.
“We went the conservative route with Paddy's injury, considering his age,” said Everitt. “However, coming into the beginning of pre-season, that same injury flared up again when he started training. So, we've had to go the surgical route, which would probably keep him out until the new year.
“He's just quite relieved that they've got to the bottom of this now and that he's able to move forward. There's nothing worse for a youngster looking forward to the new season. You come in and, you know, you've worked incredibly hard in his off-season and he came in fit and then the back flared up again.
“So, unfortunately, that's what happens when you go the conservative route. And that was the right decision that we made to do that for a youngster. But he's had the surgery now and we're moving forward and he'll be back in Jan, hopefully.”
Gilchrist, the lock forward Edinburgh's most experienced player, will also miss the start of the URC season.
“Grant Gilchrist unfortunately picked up a bicep tear in the pre-season and he will be back mid-October,” said Everitt.
Phased return of Scotland players
The Edinburgh injury list also includes hooker Ewan Ashman, lock Marshall Sykes and flanker/hooker Dylan Richardson but Everitt expects them to return sooner rather than later. Ashman is recovering from an Achilles issue sustained during his involvement with Scotland in the summer Nations Championship fixtures and he is one of a number of the club’s international players whose return to action will be phased across the first two rounds of the new URC season.
“Ashman is obviously recovering from the [Achilles] injury that he had in the summer internationals,” said the coach. “But we're not too concerned about Ewan. Ewan does get an extended break and he won't be available for round one.”
“Ben Muncaster will be involved in our second friendly [against Harlequins on September 18]. Marshall Sykes would be available for URC1. Dylan Richardson either the second pre-season friendly or URC1. So, although it looks obviously quite long, there are guys that will be ready to start the season.”
Edinburgh were already without Ben Vellacott after the scrum-half underwent surgery on his shoulder. Also injured are Luke Crosbie (hamstring), Connor Boyle (knee), Rob Carmichael (concussion), Rhys Litterick (Achilles) and Charlie McCaig (knee).
In addition, players such as Darcy Graham, Pierre Schoeman, Magnus Bradbury, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, D’arcy Rae and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty are excluded after their summer exertions with Scotland and Scotland Under-20s.
The team to face Ulster leans heavily on youth, with starts for Fin Doyle, Jamie Stewart, Christian Lindsay, Ollie Duncan, Jack Utterson and Tom Currie. New signings Geordie Gwynn, James Grayson, Alec Hepburn and Kienan Higgins will also be involved.
Edinburgh team to play Ulster
Edinburgh v Ulster, Hive Stadium, Friday, 7.45pm
15. Piers O’Conor; 14. Fin Doyle, 13. Geordie Gwynn, 12. Mosese Tuipulotu, 11. Wes Goosen, 10. James Grayson, 9. Hector Patterson; 1. Alec Hepburn, 2. Harri Morris, 3. Jamie Stewart, 4. Christian Lindsay, 5. Glen Young, 6. Ollie Duncan, 7. Jack Utterson, 8. Tom Currie.
Replacements: James Whitcombe, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Paul Hill, Euan McVie, Callum Hunter-Hill, Sam Byrd, James Dalrymple, Tom Dodd, Conor McAlpine, Ross Thompson, Rory McHaffie, Kienan Higgins, Matt Currie, Harry Paterson, Jack Brown.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.