After Andy Murray reluctantly drew the curtain on his magnificent career recently, Scotland lost one of their very few world-class athletes but they can possess one in Darcy Graham.

Injuries have severely destabilised Graham’s career across the last two years but he will soon return to the pinnacle of his sport. The enigmatic winger made a triumphant return from an eight-month absence in Edinburgh’s final pre-season friendly against Gloucester last Friday, scoring a trademark diving try.

Graham’s searing pace, evasiveness and finishing ability would arguably earn him a starting spot in every nation’s starting fifteen and Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt labelled him ‘world-class’ upon his return. It’s difficult to exaggerate the potential significance of the upcoming season with it culminating in the British and Irish Lions touring Australia. 

The 27-year-old is virtually guaranteed a place in Andy Farrell’s touring squad, if he can avoid injury, and for many, Graham would be in strong contention for a starting berth for the first test in Brisbane. Graham’s mind, naturally, isn’t Down Under yet with his sole focus on Edinburgh’s season opener but he concedes representing the Lions would be a dream come true. 

“You don't get anything bigger than that do you? Being a Lion is huge,” Graham conceded when asked if it would represent the pinnacle of his career.  “I'm not one for looking forward, I like to stay present, one week at a time. But that’s every player’s dream, to play for their country and play for the British & Irish Lions. 

“So I'm not going to stand here and say I don't want to be doing that. It’s something I'd love to strive to achieve. But it's just about getting things right with Edinburgh and then Scotland and if I play well in both of them hopefully it comes on the back of it.”

First and foremost, Graham’s priority is ensuring an injury-free start to the URC season with Edinburgh to showcase his unmistakable brilliance to secure a return to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for the upcoming Autumn internationals. 

Townsend omitted Graham for the summer tour to allow the winger to focus on rehabilitation and there’s a consensus from all involved that the decision could reap rewards, despite initial disappointment. 

“Looking back, it was frustrating not to be going,” Graham admitted. “But then in the grand scheme of things it was the right thing for me. I sat down with the coaches and spoke about it, and I would have been going on tour just straight out of rehab.  I hadn't even had a full week of training at that point, so it would have been putting my body under extra stress which wasn't needed.

“If it had been a different tour away to New Zealand, South Africa, Australia or something, it's totally different. This  tour, I think the boys loved it, it was a good experience but as you've seen in the results, it wasn't a big one to go to and it was probably the right one to miss. Hopefully that sets me up really well going into the season.”

Graham continuously played through the pain barrier - including having a screw in his knee - but he’s now enjoying the relief of waking up in the morning without worrying about aches and pains. He admitted “I do feel better than I did before, but it's weird now: I wake up and I'm still still getting out of bed going, ‘what part of my body is going to be sore today?’ 

“But no, I feel really good. It’s a bit of a shock, and it feels nice, waking up and not having to take painkillers or anti-inflammatories. It’s so much better for me.Hopefully I can’t get much more bad luck - fingers crossed! For me it’s about staying really resilient, staying switched on off the pitch, getting my extras done and working hard to stay fit.”

Like the majority of top level athletes, Graham hates watching from the sidelines, unable to impact proceedings and help his teammates. The Hawick-native, however, is eternally optimistic and hopes that his luck will change on the injury front as he targets longevity in his career. 

“I'm the worst spectator ever,” Graham laughed.  “I hate watching, especially when it comes to the international games. My missus hates (watching with) me - I'm like a bear with a sore head. As a player you just want to play all the time, so it was obviously a hugely frustrating part of my career. But everybody gets those injuries, some worse than others. The time you miss in that injury period you get that back at the end of the career. So I’ll be playing until I’m 40 then”

Graham’s infectious smile was clear to see upon his return against Gloucester last weekend. It was against the same opponent that he’d sustained his injury that deprived him of pulling on the Scotland shirt for the Six Nations and the Summer tour. 

Graham’s absence coincided with good friend Duhan van der Merwe surging ahead to become Scotland’s all-time top try scorer. Van der Merwe moved ahead of Stuart Hogg with his 28th against Uruguay in July but Graham - on 24 - laughed off the friendly rivalry. 

When asked about not letting Van der Merwe get too far ahead in the scoring table, Graham jokingly replied: “Not at all, he knows I'm breathing down his neck. For me it's just about getting things for Edinburgh. You never know when your last game is going to be, it sounds cliche but you never know, one injury could finish your career - so I just want to enjoy it.”