Sam Skinner and Glen Young injuries open door for others at Edinburgh

The capital club provided an update on the walking wounded this morning ahead of their solitary pre-season outing at home to Gloucester on Friday evening, with Scotland locks Glen Young and Sam Skinner both out for the next two to three months.

There is better news on Luke Crosbie who is due back next week, while Nathan Sweeney and James Lang are both set to come back at some stage this month.

Angus Willams will return from a hamstring injury in November, with a similar timescale laid out for Robin Hislop and Jamie Stewart.

Instead of crisis, however, Lawrie sees opportunity, believing the squad depth at head coach Sean Everitt’s disposal means there ought to be no paucity of personnel options.

“Among the senior locks - we’ve still got Jamie Hodgson, Marshall Sykes and Grant Gilchrist,” he listed. “It’s an opportunity for Rob Carmichael to come in, and Euan McVie has been training regularly with the main team.

“Plus we’ve got a few hybrid players that could jump up into that second row. Magnus [Bradbury] could scrummage in there - he’s done it before - and also Tom Dodd. So we’re blessed in terms of that back-five depth.”

Everyone else is expected to be available to Everitt as he mulls over his options for Friday’s clash at Hive Stadium, with Darcy Graham, in particular, desperate to feature after a miserable year ruined by injury issues.

“He’s bloody fantastic, honestly,” added Lawrie. “If you had 50 Darcy Grahams running about life would be all right. If everyone turned up to work like Darcy Graham and Pierre Schoeman life would be absolutely grand, in terms of the energy they bring. He’s [Darcy] pumped, he’s ready to go.

“We only have one pre-season game, which we felt was enough. We had an internal hit-out last week, which we used to have a look at everybody. 

“This week the squad will be trimmed, probably to about 34 who’ll be involved in the match day, and that is what we’re probably going to see in those first five games. Thirty-four players is a good amount for that first block.”

For Skinner, this was a planned operation to tidy up a knee problem that has plagued him since last year.

“It’s the same knee,” confirmed Lawrie. “To his credit, he’s a tough lad and he gets on with things but we felt for him, to give him the best chance to put his game out there, you don’t want to always be managing a grumbly knee so it was right that he got the surgery and it’s gone well. He’s back running and we just want to make sure he’s a player for us for the next wee while.

“He had a clean-up, the operation went well and we expect him to be back in November. Glen obviously hurt himself on tour with Scotland, and we expect him to be back just before then.

“But the key thing for me is there’s lots of opportunity there for guys to experience what it’s like playing against Gloucester and Leinster.”

The Gloucester game carries extra significance given the size of the challenge facing Edinburgh in the opening few weeks of the United Rugby Championship season. After welcoming Irish behemoths Leinster to the Hive on September 20 they travel to South Africa for match-ups with the Bulls – last year’s URC finalists – and the Lions.

It could scarcely be tougher but Lawrie, again with his glass half-full, sees it as an opportunity rather than a problem.

“The season’s blocked and we know what that start looks like. But what an opportunity to go out there and get a win against Leinster and then travel to South Africa and create really meaningful bonds again because a tour does that for you. 

“And if you can get a couple of results out there, when you come back it can be a real springboard for the season, leading into the autumn Tests.”