Scotland wing Darcy Graham is set to miss the Calcutta Cup clash with England after his horror collision with Finn Russell, but could yet return for the end of the Six Nations.
Graham has avoided serious damage in the worrying incident that saw play halted for several minutes in the encounter with Ireland at Murrayfield.
The 27-year-old was taken off on a stretcher in Edinburgh after a sickening clash of heads and will now progress through concussion return-to-play protocols.
Having failed his head injury assessment (HIA), Graham faces a mandatory stand down period of at least 12 days, but his club coach Sean Everitt has cautioned that any return against England next Saturday is highly unlikely.
The Edinbugh boss confirmed, though, that the prognosis beyond that is more encouraging with no broken bones or facial fractures.
“He’s just going to follow his return-to-play concussion protocols as per normal, and those are taken in stages,” Everitt said. “I don’t think Darcy would be able to return to the field within 12 days but fortunately for us the scans came back clear.
“For us and for Scottish Rugby it’s about making sure he gets through his HIA protocols. Yes, absolutely [it is a relief]. Obviously there’s a lot of care that has to take place on a rugby field.
“There’s a lot of pain in his jaw. It’s never great to see a player lying on his back, regardless of where he’s from, on the field for six and a half minutes. So, it was scary thoughts there. But well done to the medics. They did their job really well and he’s up and about.”
Russell passed his HIA during the game and could have been permitted to return to the field, but Scotland elected not to bring him back on after the fly half was unable to remember certain details around team plays.
It is not yet clear how that may impact upon his availability for the trip to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as Gregor Townsend’s visitors seek to continue their recent superiority over their rivals.
Scotland have held the Calcutta Cup since 2021 and lost just one of the last seven meetings between the two sides.
