Scotland call-up replacement after Sam Skinner is ruled out of World Cup
Glasgow Warriors forward Tim Swinson has been invited to train with Scotland before they pick their World Cup 2019 squad next week after Sam Skinner was ruled out through injury.
Swinson, who earned the most recent of his 38 Scotland caps in the 2018 win over Argentina in Resistencia, will provide training cover for Skinner, who sustained a hamstring injury in the national team’s 17-14 win over France at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Skinner had the muscle scanned at Spire Murrayfield Hospital on the evening of the match and the prognosis was disappointing as the time needed for him to recover meant that he would be unable a meaningful part in Scotland’s World Cup campaign which kicks off in Yokohama against Ireland on September 22.
While Scotland only confirmed the worst on Tuesday, it was feared in the aftermath of Saturday’s win in Edinburgh that Skinner’s availability was on the line following a match in which Tommy Seymour and Blade Thomson also picked up injuries that rule them out of Scotland’s trip to Tbilisi next Saturday.
Seymour and Thomson are both expected to recover in time to be named in the final 31-man squad for the World Cup on September 3, assuming there are no significant hold-ups as they progress through the head injury return to play protocol.
BREAKING | Swinson invited to train as Skinner ruled out.
All the best with your recovery Sam #AsOnehttps://t.co/MZ6LgI1kzf— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) August 27, 2019
But Skinner was the bigger concern. He was clearly in pain as he hobbled off the field in the 61st minute at Murrayfield with a hamstring injury.
It left Townsend commenting at the time: “It is always disappointing when you see someone getting injured and it may mean that they miss the World Cup.
“Sam Skinner, out of the three, looks to be more of a serious injury. He’ll get scanned and we’ll know more about him later tonight (Saturday), so fingers crossed for all three players.”
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