FINN Russell, the Glasgow Warriors stand-off, has come back more fearless than ever from his four-month injury lay-off, according to Gregor Townsend.
Russell makes his first appearance of the season for the Warriors against Ulster tonight, having been sidelined since a sickening clash of heads with team-mate Zander Fagerson in the opening minutes of the PRO12 semi-final against Connacht in May. The Scotland playmaker was in a Dublin hospital for a week, and was diagnosed with a fractured eye socket. It is the kind of serious injury that can make many players think twice before going into tackles when they make their comeback, but his coach, who watched Russell play for Ayr against Hawick last week, is confident that the No 10 is more than ready to return to action.
“When he wasn't supposed to be doing contact [in training], I’ve seen him getting stuck in,” Townsend said yesterday. “In the last two and a half weeks since he's done contact, he's tackled really well. That has probably helped his return, because he likes that side of the game so much.
“Yes, it was a serious injury, and he's missed a bit of time - but he's not missed much rugby, because the injury was over the summer after the last game of the season. This is round four and he's back playing for us.
“Like any injury you make a full recovery and you want to get out there and play. He's showed those emotions and those attributes over the last few weeks.”
Russell will keep wearing a headguard on medical advice, but otherwise there should be little or no difference in the way he plays. “I think the recommendation was wearing it for the season,” Townsend added. “He's had one game now. I think like anyone who wears it for the first time he'll take it off to goal kick and chat, because your head gets a bit warm.
“He seemed to do okay last week. I'm as confident as you would be if this was his first or second game of the season without injury.
“The way he has attacked training, the way he attacked that game - he can't wait to play. He has always stepped up at the highest level. It's a big test for us, it's a big test for him, but he's usually relished that.”
Peter Horne, who has played at 10 in Russell’s absence, will be out for six weeks with a fractured hand. Full-back Stuart Hogg will be back-up for Russell in this evening’s league match.
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