Blair Kinghorn hope for Scotland v England but WP Nel injury harder to predict and gloomy forecast on Adam Hastings

Kinghorn has been ruled out of Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations opener in Wales on Saturday and the round two fixture against France at Murrayfield on February 10. But Townsend is hopeful the player can use the free weekend which follows to recover in time for the home game with England. In Kinghorn’s absence, Kyle Rowe will wear the Scotland No 15 jersey in Cardiff. Rowe has enjoyed an excellent first half of the season with Glasgow, but playing on the wing, not full-back. It is a case of needs must for Scotland whose full-back stocks have been depleted by Stuart Hogg’s retirement last summer and Ollie Smith’s serious knee injury which has ruled him out for the season.

Kinghorn has also suffered knee damage but nothing like as serious, being MCL rather than ACL. The injury occurred during Toulouse’s win over Racing 92 on Sunday. “It’s a disappointment for Blair,” said Townsend. “To play 80 minutes on Sunday night in Paris and be part of a winning performance against Racing and then come into camp with a knee injury he picked up in the game, I don’t think he thought he would be out this week but we made sure we got the scan done as soon as he arrived.

“It’s not a major injury, but one that will keep him out for the first two games. We’re really pleased with Kyle Rowe’s game. He played full back for us in his first cap and we see him as someone who is very comfortable in that position. It’s very important that we have players with confidence about how they are playing coming into such a big fixture. With Blair, we believe it is a three to four week injury, so if he progresses well with his rehab and recovery he should be available for England.”

Scotland haven’t had their troubles to seek going into the Six Nations. Darcy Graham will miss the first two rounds with a quad injury; WP Nel is out with a neck issue; Grant Gilchrist is suspended for the Wales game and Rory Darge will also miss the match in Cardiff. The good news on Darge is that he is on course to recover from a knee injury to face France. “Rory is good now,” said Townsend. “You will see him training on Friday if you are at the team run, so he’s ticked everything off. This game came a few days too soon for him, but he’ll be training next week.”

Edinburgh prop Nel’s recovery is less easy to predict. “It’s a neck issue that just needs some time to settle,” added Townsend. “He played a game against the Scarlets and felt it during that game. We’ve had scans and they were reassuring, but it’s not settled yet. We’ll see him next week but because the first two games come in a block it might be he is not able to come back next week.”

There was also gloomy news around Adam Hastings who had to withdraw from the squad last week, also with a knee injury. Townsend doesn’t expect him to be fit in time to play any part in this season’s Six Nations, although he should return to playing within two months.