Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is confident hooker Fraser Brown will overcome a toe injury in time for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Glasgow Warriors player Brown suffered the injury during his side’s PRO14 final loss to Leinster at Parkhead last month, with initial concerns he had injured his knee causing him to leave the field on a stretcher.
Having been diagnosed with a toe problem before undergoing surgery earlier this summer, Townsend acknowledges Brown faces a fitness battle.
Townsend remains optimistic the 36-times capped hooker, who turns 30 tomorrow, will return in time for Scotland’s opening fixture against Ireland in Yokohama on September 22.
Townsend said: “We are confident Fraser will be ready in time for the World Cup. We wont see him training much over the next few weeks as he’s continuing his recovery.
“It was a toe issue. He has had a tidy-up operation around two of his toes because of what happened in the Leinster game. When we saw his reaction we were initially worried it was his knee, and then something else, so it’s good news.
“We are confident he’ll be available for the World Cup but we’ll see how he goes over the next few weeks.
“The warm-up games might be too early but that will depend how he goes once he starts running again. We have not added someone to the squad as we believe he will be fit in time for the tournament.”
Townsend will reduce his provisional 42-man squad down to 31 ahead of the tournament, with Scotland building up their preparations in a training camp at Highland’s Canal Park in Inverness this week.
Among those not selected is Richie Gray, who came off the bench to help Toulouse win the Top 14 final against Clermont Auvergne last weekend, however Townsend has not closed the door on a recall should any of his locks suffer an injury in the coming weeks.
Townsend added: “He would definitely be in the mix. We watched his game on Saturday night on TV and watched it here yesterday before training. We are aware that players are still playing. Greig and Richie played the last two weeks in semi-finals and final. We know he had a good game, came off the pitch and played well.”
Townsend insists his captaincy options remain wide open for the tournament.
Although Greig Laidlaw and Stuart McInally shared the armband throughout this year’s Six Nations, Grant Gilchrist and Stuart Hogg have also taken on the responsibility for recent tests against Canada and USA respectively.
Townsend will take time before making his final decision, adding: “We’ve had five captains in the last 18 months. Grant Gilchrist and Stuart Hogg captained on tour but over the past two Six Nations tournaments we’ve had John Barclay, Greig Laidlaw and Stuart McInally. So that gives us good leadership to work with at this camp. John had a successful stint and Greig has been a great captain for Scotland and we had Stuart when we got to the Calcutta Cup.
“We’ll make that decision when we get closer to the World Cup.
“They have to be in the team, that would be the first criteria, and that they have the respect of the players and show leadership skills. That could be different attributes. They’ve got to want it too because there is a lot of responsibility that goes with that. But I think that it is a player who is very likely to play.”