Another key Scotland player has emerged as a doubt for the Six Nations after Zander Fagerson was ruled out for “the foreseeable”.
The 26-year-old suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Glasgow in their United Rugby Championship victory away to Zebre Parma a week last Saturday.
His club have now revealed in a statement that – after undergoing a scan – he is “expected to be out of action for the foreseeable, pending ongoing assessment”.
Fagerson has become a mainstay of the Scotland team, winning 54 caps and earning a call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad in 2021.
His absence would be a big blow to Townsend, especially as talismanic wing Darcy Graham is also a major doubt for the start of the tournament after sustaining medial ligament damage during Edinburgh’s URC defeat to Munster earlier this month.
Glasgow pair Scott Cummings and Rory Darge are both in a race to be fit for the Six Nations as they battle to recover from the injuries that ruled them out of the autumn Tests.
In brighter news for Townsend, Glasgow centre Sam Johnson – who also missed the recent internationals – is now back in full training, while Edinburgh pair Dave Cherrie and Sam Skinner, who both sustained injuries on Scotland duty last month, are expected to return to contention in the coming weeks.
