Scotland facing anxious wait over nine players ahead of Six Nations

Bidding to improve on two wins from his first ten Championship games, Robinson has already lost Moray Low and Fraser McKenzie from the squad as well as Steven Shingler, the London Irish centre with a Scottish mother who the IRB ruled was already tied to Wales. Today he could say goodbye to the one back row certainty he had, Kelly Brown, in what would represent a big blow to the team. Brown has also been a contender for the captaincy of the side.

The Borderer suffered a clearly painful leg injury in Saracens’ Heineken Cup win over Treviso on Sunday and had to be stretchered off. Initial reports suggested a fractured fibula, one of the two bones in the lower leg, and if a full break is confirmed that is likely to rule him out of the entire championship.

However, the SRU insisted last night that though Brown remained in London under the supervision of the Saracens medical team, he remained part of the Scotland squad while they awaited scan results. James Robson, the Scotland team doctor, said: “We are liaising closely with the Saracens medics and we await the outcome of two scans that Kelly has undergone today. At this juncture Kelly remains part of our Six Nations squad.”

Brown was one of only a few players certain to start for Scotland in the Calcutta Cup match – which would have been his 50th Test appearance. The obvious replacement, either at No 8 or blindside flanker, is Edinburgh’s David Denton, who turns 22 on 5 February, the day after Scotland play England at Murrayfield.

But Denton provided a scare when he withdrew from the Edinburgh team that beat London Irish on Sunday secure only a second-ever place in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, having failed to recover from a strained hamstring last week.

Three more forwards, props Alasdair Dickinson (shoulder) and Ed Kalman (calf), and lock Alastair Kellock (respiratory tract infection), also turned up yesterday at Scotland’s training camp in St Andrews with injury concerns, while stand-off Ruaridh Jackson continues with hamstring rehabilitation, centres Nick De Luca and Joe Ansbro are recovering from concussion and back injuries respectively which kept them out of Sunday’s Heineken Cup game, and full-back/wing Rory Lamont is being treated for deep bruising to his lower leg suffered in Glasgow’s match with Bath.

There is a confidence in the management that most will be fit to resume training this week or next, but the lack of training or game-time with the Calcutta Cup just 11 days away add an extra worry to the team selection.

Robinson preferred to wait until today, when he will have a clearer picture of the injury prognosis and recovery, before commenting on the concerns, but welcomed the players positively into a campaign that he hopes will build on Edinburgh’s Heineken Cup success.

“It’s great to be back in camp and there’s a real buzz among the players as we look forward to the England game,” he said.

“On behalf of the management, I’d like to congratulate Edinburgh Rugby on their qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. It was a fine performance at Murrayfield. That achievement, and the league form of Glasgow Warriors in the RaboDirect PRO12, has certainly provided a spring in the step of Scottish rugby and it’s up to us now to keep that going.”

Elsewhere, Ireland coach Declan Kidney has a few injury worries of his own with Luke Fitzgerald now added to an injury lost that includes Brian O’Driscoll, David Wallace, Darren Cave, Felix Jones, Jerry Flannery, Denis Leamy and Niall Ronan.

Wales reported that prop Gethin Jenkins did not travel with the squad to Gdansk for their pre-tournament training camp, but may join them later in the week, while others who suffered knocks at the weekend, Rhys Priestland, Lee Byrne and Dan Lydiate, did travel and are expected to train today, and centre Jamie Roberts continues rehab on a knee injury in Poland. Ice and cryotherapy chambers is the option for Warren Gatland, but cotton wool may be the substance preferred in the other camps this week.