Scotland's preparations for the RBS 6 Nations Championship have been dealt a double blow by the news that Edinburgh No.8 Dave Denton and Glasgow wing/full-back Sean Maitland have been ruled out of their tournament opener against France in 10 days' time.
While it had been thought that the entire squad had come through last weekend's club matches unscathed, investigations revealed that Denton had suffered a calf muscle tear during Edinburgh's 38-20 Challenge Cup victory over Bordeaux-Begles on Friday, while Maitland damaged his shoulder in Glasgow's 20-15 Champions Cup loss to Bath two days later.
Both payers played all 80 minutes of their respective matches, but underwent scans on Monday that showed that they would not be fit in time for the match in Paris on Saturday week. The pair have now left the Scotland training base near Motherwell to continue rehab programmes at their clubs and an official bulletin suggested that they may come back into the frame for later Six Nations games.
It is not clear whether national coach Vern Cotter will seek to replace Denton and Maitland as he is known to prefer a small and tight squad. Castres No.8 Johnnie Beattie had already been added to the squad on Monday, but options in that area have been reduced as Adam Ashe, who played in the autumn matches, is currently sidelined by a neck injury.
Richie Vernon, the former Test No.8 who has played most of his rugby at centre for the past two seasons, made an impressive return to his old berth with Glasgow on Sunday and Cotter could ask him to come in. Ryan Wilson, who was ruled out of the original squad last week while his trial for assault went on, is no longer an option. He has been suspended by the SRU after the player was yesterday found guilty of the offence.
The versatility of many of the current Scotland backs means the case for calling up a replacement for Maitland is less pressing. If Cotter wants another full-back then Edinburgh's Jack Cuthbert or Glasgow's Peter Murchie could be next in line, while Max Evans of Castres could be recalled if a wing specialist is wanted.
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