Gregor Townsend has been dealt a massive blow after Adam Hastings was all but ruled out of Scotland’s Six Nations campaign.
The Glasgow Warriors fly-half is set to be sidelined for the next few months after undergoing surgery on a fractured jaw sustained in last Friday’s United Rugby Championship victory over Scarlets.
Hastings was bulldozed to the ground by giant No 8 Vaea Fifita late in the first half and required lengthy medical treatment before he was able to walk off the pitch.
The 28-year-old was taken to hospital where he had an operation to fix a facial fracture over the weekend before being released home to start his rehabilitation.
Glasgow defence coach Pete Murchie confirmed the player would be absent for months rather than weeks.
It’s just the latest setback for Hastings, son of Scotland great Gavin, whose time at Gloucester was marred by a series of injuries that saw him play only nine matches last season.
Hastings required urgent medical attention after suffering a big hit from Scarlets’ Vaea Fifita
The fly-half was helped from the pitch and subsequent tests have revealed a fractured jaw
The loss of Hastings will rob Gregor Townsend of a key squad option for the Six Nations
He returned to Glasgow in the summer and started the season in good form, his performances earning him a recall to the Scotland squad and starts against Fiji and Portugal.
Hastings would have been the main back-up at No 10 behind Finn Russell in Townsend’s Six Nations plans but now faces a race to be involved at all following the injury that will also see him miss Warriors’ Champions Cup pool matches and the 1872 Cup derbies with Edinburgh.
Murchie said: ‘It’s a long recovery process, so we wish Adam all the best. We’ll look after him and he’ll get the best care. He’s a bit sore and it’s good that he’s had the operation.
‘Obviously, it was pretty clear that it was a nasty one straight away. Initially, we didn’t fully realise that it was the jaw but it’s a huge contact.
‘It must be frustrating for him. That’s been a couple of years now when he’s had some really bad luck. He knows how to recover and I’m sure he’ll be back. But everyone’s gutted for him. He was starting to put together some really nice performances.’
Hastings was an impressive figure for Scotland in their Autumn Test defeat of Portugal
Warriors have cover in new Scotland cap Tom Jordan and veteran Duncan Weir, who came on for Hastings in the win over Scarlets.
‘It’s an opportunity for other guys to play a little bit more,’ added Murchie.
‘We’ve still got TJ and Dunc, Stafford (McDowall) has played there before, and there are young lads as well who are coming through like Richie (Simpson) and Matty Urwin. So, we’ve still got plenty of options and they’ll have to share the load.’
Warriors open their European campaign at home to Sale Sharks on Saturday and are being tipped to go far in the competition as dark horses.
‘It’s good that people are talking about us but you’ve got to back it up,’ added Murchie. ‘Talk is cheap. We’ve got to deliver and we know that.’
