Jack Dempsey: Scotland hit by further Six Nations injury blow as surgery casts major doubt over back row for opener

The No 8 went under knife for facial injury and expected to be out for two months

Scotland back rower Jack Dempsey is now a major doubt for the start of the 2024 Six Nations after his club Glasgow Warriors confirmed on Thursday that the 29-year-old will be sidelined “for the next couple of months”.

Dempsey has undergone surgery to a facial injury sustained while playing for Warriors against Ulster last month. The 15-times capped No 8 broke part of his bone above his eye in the URC match and required an operation to fix the issue. He will miss Warriors’ 1872 Cup festive double-header against Edinburgh later this month and is in a race against the clock to be fit in time for Scotland’s opening Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday, February 3 in Cardiff, as well as the home match against France seven days later.

A former Australia internationalist who switched allegiance to Scotland last year, Dempsey has become one of Scotland’s most powerful and effective forwards. While head coach Gregor Townsend is blessed with depth in the back row with further options such as Matt Fagerson, captain Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge, Hamish Watson and Luke Crosbie, Dempsey’s influence would be keenly felt should he fail to be available for the start of the tournament.

Jack Dempsey picked up his injury playing for Glasgow Warriors against Ulster last month.

The news comes on the back of another Scotland forward being ruled out of the tournament, with promising Leicester Tigers lock Cameron Henderson ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Prop another Glasgow player on the fringes of the Scotland set-up after winning three caps in the past 12 months, could also miss the start of the Six Nations after having surgery on his own knee injury.