Scots turn to Ryan Grant as Allan Dell awaits op

The uncapped Dell, a South African who qualifies for Scotland via his Paisley-born grandmother, injured a leg during his team’s league defeat in Leinster last Friday. He was assessed that night in a Dublin hospital and was able to return to Scotland with his team-mates the following morning, but it was announced yesterday that he will need an operation on the injury. CONNECT WITH THE SCOTSMAN • Subscribe to our daily newsletter (requires registration) and get the latest news, sport and business headlines delivered to your inbox every morning • You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google + “He is currently under the care of medical staff at Spire Murrayfield [hospital] and will undergo surgery at the earliest opportunity, after which timelines for recovery will be determined,” a statement from Edinburgh Rugby said. Grant, who has 18 caps and also toured with the Lions last summer, is himself just returning from injury. He had shoulder surgery in May, returned to competitive action at club level a fortnight ago, and was named man of the match in his comeback for Glasgow in Friday’s victory over Treviso. At least in the case of Grant, Cotter can call on a loosehead prop with considerable experience, albeit one who is short of match practice. In other areas, the coach has been robbed of some of his most seasoned campaigners – and this before the Autumn Tests have even begun. The most significant loss to date is arguably that of lock Grant Gilchrist, who was announced as captain for the series two weeks ago, only to be ruled out days later with a fractured arm. Cotter will name a replacement captain today, then on Thursday will announce his team for Saturday’s match against Argentina at BT Murrayfield. SCOTSMAN TABLET AND IPHONE APPS • Download your free 30-day trial for our iPad, Android Android and Kindle apps • Keep up to date with all aspects of Scottish life with The Scotsman iPhone app, completely free to download and use