SCOTlAND prop Zander Fagerson is unlikely to make the Six Nations and Glasgow Warriors, his club, are scouring the world for a temporary replacement to see them through until he returns in the spring.
The 22 year old broke his ankle during the club's game against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein 12 days ago but it was only after he arrived back in Scotland after the second game of the South African tour that they were able to put a firm timeline on his return.
"We think he’ll be out for five to six months," said Dave Rennie, the head coach at the official Champions Cup launch in Dublin – which would put his earliest comeback date two weeks after the Six Nations starts.
"We are hoping maybe five or four-and-a-half [months]," Rennie added. "It was a clean break and the operation went well but we are not going to push him. It’s a big season with a World Cup following.
"Zander has been superb. The scrum as gone well but the quality of his carrying, cleaning and tackling has been great. There is a bit of mongrel about him and we’ll miss that."
The problem for the club is that Siosiua Halanukonuka, the Tongan who would be expected to take over, is also out with a foot injury, leaving D'Arcy Rae and Adam Nicol as the only available tightheads.
"We are a little thin and at a stage where we might have to look at bringing someone in. We are a little way down he road but nowhere near putting pen to paper," Rennie added.
Edinburgh will meanwhile be without South African prop Pierre Schoeman for their first two rounds of European Champions Cup matches after he received a four week ban after being red carded for striking opposition flanker Dan Leavy with his forearm during his side's Pro14 defeat by champions Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.
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