Scotland winger Darcy Graham set to miss rest of Six Nations after aggravating injury

Darcy Graham will be out for 'four to six weeks' according to Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS/SRU

The Edinburgh winger had resumed training with the national squad around ten days ago after recovering from a knee-ligament injury that kept him out of the first two Championship games. The fixture against Italy at the weekend had been pencilled in for his return, but he missed that and will now sit out the remaining matches against France and Wales too.

“Darcy went training with Scotland last week and had a slight reaction to that knee issue,” Cockerill explained yesterday at an Edinburgh press conference. “I can’t see him playing in the next four to six weeks.”

Cockerill also revealed that tighthead prop WP Nel and stand-off Jaco van der Walt have both activated “plus-one” clauses in their contracts, meaning they will stay with Edinburgh for next season at least. There is less certainty, however, about the future of the team’s other front-line stand-off, Simon Hickey. The coach wants the New Zealander to stay, and Hickey himself said yesterday that talks about a new deal had begun, but it remains to be seen if enough is left in the playing budget for terms to be agreed.

“We’re in chats about that [a new contract] at the moment,” the 26-year-old said. “There’s discussions ongoing, but I’m just doing my best to focus on the rugby aspect of things. It’s been nice to get some game time, so I’m just trying to play well and if I do that, those things tend to take care of themselves.”

Hickey, pictured, added “For sure, yes,” when asked if he was keen to stay, but besides monetary matters he will have to weigh up his chances of playing more regularly for Edinburgh over the next couple of seasons. He has been back-up to Van der Walt for much of the time since he arrived two years ago.

“Fly-half – we’ve got to sort out with what [Hickey is] doing, so we’ll look at our options there,” Cockerill  added. “I think it’s like everything, it’s what he wants to do, what that costs, all those things. Our budget has stayed pretty much the same, players become more expensive and you have to start moving the jigsaw around.

“We’ve re-signed a lot of guys. I don’t think any of them are cheaper – no-one comes in and says ‘I’ve been overpaid, I’ll take a little bit less’.”

If Hickey does leave,  Cockerill will move into the transfer market. “At the moment there is not a young Scotsman who can step up and do that job well enough for us,” he said. “We want to bring someone in who is SQ [Scottish qualified] and develop them, but they are few and far between.”

Tighthead prop Pietro Ceccarelli is also out of contract at the end of the season and may find the budget at Edinburgh to be too tight a fit. “We’re still waiting on Ceccarelli,”  Cockerill added.