Fears rising that Scotland winger Darcy Graham could miss rest of rugby season

The Hawick 26-year-old was originally expected to be ruled out of only the first match or two of 2024’s Six Nations by a quad injury but a subsequent groin strain has dashed hopes of a comeback for country or club any time soon.

If that less optimistic prospect is confirmed by further medical checks, it’ll be the second year on the spin that the 39-times-capped Borderer has missed out on a Six Nations altogether after sitting out 2023’s campaign with knee ligament damage.

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt hasn’t entirely given up hope of seeing Graham in action again this season but concedes that a longer recuperation period than he’s had in the past might be wiser.

“We’d like to see him in the latter part of the season, but from what I can gather it will be a long-term injury,” said the 54-year-old.

“We’ve been waiting for him to see the surgeon and get an opinion from the orthopaedics. He hasn’t had the opportunity to see the guy yet and he’ll see him this week.

"What’s important is that we give Darcy every opportunity to fully recover from the injuries that he's had over the last 12 months. He’s really struggled.

“He’s a player that's 26-years-old, so to keep pushing him is probably not going to be ideal for him and his career going forward.

“We’ll give him however long it takes to fully recover from all his niggles that he's struggled with.”

Graham, at Edinburgh since 2017, has only played four games for the capital club this season after returning from last autumn’s Rugby World Cup in France suffering a hip injury, subsequently undergoing surgery for the prior knee issue that ruled him out of 2023’s Six Nations, then sustaining a quad injury in January just weeks after making a comeback following his previous woes.

His absence from international duty has seen fellow Edinburgh winger Duhan van der Merwe overtake him in Scotland’s list of all-time top try-scorers.

Before Saturday, Graham’s tally of 24 tries since 2018 was second, jointly with Ian Smith and Hawick’s Tony Stanger, only to fellow ex-Green Stuart Hogg’s record of 27 in 100 appearances.

The South African 28-year-old’s hat-trick during head coach Gregor Townsend’s side’s 30-21 Calcutta Cup victory over England at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium at the weekend saw him leapfrog Graham, Stanger and Smith with 26 in 37 appearances, just one shy of Hogg’s total.

Van der Merwe isn’t among the eight members of Scotland’s Six Nations squad released to play for Edinburgh at home to Swansea’s Ospreys this Friday but Jedburgh’s Glen Young, yet to pick up a cap this year, will be available for selection.