Scotland given Darcy Graham Six Nations hope as Edinburgh coach provides positive update after 'scary' injury

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt has praised the Scotland Rugby medical team for their treatment of wing star Darcy Graham in the aftermath of the ‘scary’ injury he suffered in last weekend’s Six Nations defeat against Ireland.

The 27-year-old is viewed as a key player for Scotland coach Gregor Townsend and put in a lively performance as his side kicked off this year’s tournament with a battling home win against Italy earlier this month. However, Graham’s involvement in last weekend’s 18-32 defeat against reigning champions Ireland was cut short by a sickening injury he suffered during the first half at Murrayfield.

After colliding with team-mate Finn Russell, both the stand-off and Graham underwent Head Injury Assessments in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Graham was taken to hospital for further treatment before releasing a statement via his social media accounts expressing his gratitude for the support he had received.

Posting on his Instagram account, Graham said: “I would just like to thank everyone for all their well wishes and lovely messages after the game on Sunday. It means so much and the support is overwhelming. Not the way anyone wants to leave the pitch but very grateful for the quick care and attention I received from the world class medical team.”

With concussion protocols coming to an end late next week, there was some hope Graham could return for next weekend’s Calcutta Cup clash with England - although it seems more likely the home clash with Wales seven days later or the tournament ending trip to France will be more realistic targets. For Edinburgh head coach Everitt, the main emotion is one of relief as a key player for club and control appears to have avoided serious injury.

He said: “He’s just going to follow his return-to-play concussion protocols as per normal, and those are taken in stages. I don’t think Darcy would be able to return to the field within 12 days but fortunately for us the scans came back clear. And for us and for Scottish Rugby it’s about making sure he gets through his HIA protocols.”

When asked if he was relieved to hear the news Everitt replied: “Yes, absolutely. Obviously there’s a lot of care that has to take place on a rugby field. There’s a lot of pain in his jaw. It’s never great to see a player lying on his back, regardless of where he’s from, on the field for six and a half minutes. So, it was scary thoughts there. But well done to the medics. They did their job really well and he’s up and about.”

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