Scott Johnson believes “the world will be talking” about young centre Matt Scott in a couple of years but it seems unlikely he will feature in Scotland’s next match against South Africa.
The 23-year-old centre gave another eye-catching display against Japan but suffered a hand injury on the last play of the game and will see a specialist in Leeds today, but all the indications were clear as early as Saturday night that he will be ruled out for Sunday’s clash with the Springboks.
It was one of several injury doubts sustained in a bruising encounter with Japan, won handsomely in the end with six tries, although the visitors won great credit for their vast improvement since they were routed by 100 points at Perth a decade ago.
Ryan Grant and Al Kellock will both be under concussion protocols this week, although Grant seemingly made a swift recovery after he was knocked out getting on the wrong side of a tackle.
Man of the match Tim Swinson (shoulder) and Duncan Weir (groin), who scored his first international try, are also under attention.
However, the most serious injury is Scott’s, after he once again showed up as the most inventive of Scotland’s backs.
“It is well documented what I think the kid can be,” said interim head coach Johnson. “He is not there yet but he is going to be a special player.
“Disappointingly, he has been banged up on the last play there and it was the one thing we wanted to get him through to the end, but it opens the door for somebody else probably.”
Scott started to show his undoubted potential in the summer with three outstanding displays in South Africa, and has continued on for Edinburgh this season.
“He is a special kid and a special player, and I think he can go further in the game than we are willing to admit,” continued Johnson.
“He is a wonderful athlete with good skills and good feet that’s a lot of boxes ticked there. I am glad he is playing for us. I will be incredibly glad in a couple of years’ time because I think the world will be talking about him.”
Scotland team doctor James Robson has referred Scott to consultant hand surgeon Doug Campbell at the SPIRE Hospital in Leeds.
“Matt requires further assessment before we can ascertain the full extent of his injury,” he said. “As ever with soft tissue damage it can be 48 hours after a match before the scope of any injuries becomes clearer.
“Yesterday, was a full-blown test match with the consequent assortment of bumps and bruises.”
Grant and Kellock will both follow the graduated return to play protocol on concussion, which requires no symptoms to be evident for 48 hours before a player can return to even light training.
Recent scrutiny over concussion instances in rugby and other sports has heightened attention on the issue this autumn, and it was noticeable even although Grant in particular appeared to recover on the pitch after his head knock, there was no
question of him being allowed to continue.