Key man Alex Dunbar will take no part in World Cup warm-ups as he strives to recover from ACL surgery to join Scotland for the tournament, head coach Vern Cotter revealed yesterday.
The centre, crucial to Scotland’s plans, snapped ligaments in his knee in a routine training ground incident prior to the Calcutta Cup game at Twickenham in March, and the best case scenario had him returning to action just as the tournament begins for Scotland on September 24 against Japan at Gloucester.
“He will be fit just when the World Cup starts, I think,” said Cotter. “I can’t answer whether he’ll be picked without playing a warm-up game, we’re hoping he’ll turn the corner quickly and give us a bit more comfort in making that decision. At the moment it’s 50-50.”
The final verdict lies with the long-time Scotland team doctor, James Robson, added Cotter.
“I think over the next two weeks we’ll get an idea whether it’s positive, and we can hope, or whether we might have to think about other options,” he continued. “I’ll listen to James. If he comes and tells me there’s hope, I’ll believe there’s hope. If he tells me there’s no hope, then I’ll listen to him.
“We’d have to be very sure that Alex is 100 per cent. I’d imagine he’d have to play a club game probably before we’d select him.”
As for Scotland’s other injured players, Ruaridh Jackson (knee) plays his first game in 11 months tomorrow in Dublin, Matt Scott (shoulder) is on the bench, Mark Bennett (shoulder) is expected to be ready for consideration next week with Sean Maitland (shoulder) following close behind.
Chris Cusiter’s absence from the squad due to family commitments effectively makes him on “stand-by” for the tournament, Cotter agreed.
“Chris is a proven professional and if the team needs his expertise for one reason or another we know we can contact him,” said the coach. “We have three half-backs and they bring different things to the team.”
Josh Strauss, not eligible to play for Scotland until the Japan match as his residential qualification is not yet complete, will play in Glasgow’s pre-season friendly in Canada and then the PRO12 opener against Scarlets, Cotter added.