Suffering Scotland look set to lose both Finn Russell and Darcy Graham for trip to Twickenham in blow to Calcutta Cup five-in-a-row hopes

Scotland have suffered a fresh blow with the news that Finn Russell and Darcy Graham are both set to miss the clash against England at Twickenham after suffering concussion in the weekend defeat to Ireland. A horrible clash of heads saw Russell and Graham collide with each other after 22 minutes of Scotland’s 32-18 loss at Murrayfield on Sunday. Graham was carted off in a neck brace by medics and was later diagnosed with a concussion after being released from hospital.

Russell, meanwhile, initially passed his Head Injury Assessment [HIA], only to be stood down on the say-so of the Scotland coaching staff. Both players are now understood to be a major doubt for the Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham a week on Saturday. Given that hospital scans immediately showed Graham to have suffered a concussion, he will face a 12-day stand-down period as per concussion protocols.

The situation with Russell was initially unclear, given that he did not technically fail his HIA. There had been a suggestion he may only face a seven-day stand-down period. Finn Russell watches on from the stands after suffering a head injury against Ireland. Russell is now a doubt for the Calcutta Cup clash with England at Twickenham. But Mail Sport understands that, given he was treated for delayed symptoms and ultimately as a failed HIA, Russell is also now likely to face a 12-day stand-down period.

That means he would be unable to train with the team until Friday, February 21, the day before Scotland go hunting a fifth straight victory in the Calcutta Cup. Scotland are set to fly out to a warm-weather training camp in Spain next week, though Russell and Graham will be unable to take part in any contact or meaningful session. It looks likely that Gregor Townsend will have to devise a game plan without his star playmaker if Scotland are to revive their Six Nations campaign following the defeat to Ireland.

Townsend defended the decision to remove Russell from the action, with many critics questioning the HIA process given that the player had passed the initial checks. Asked about whether HIA protocols need to be looked at or made stronger, he said: ‘No. I think delayed symptoms might happen. ‘I think the process is obviously agreed. You see the actions on the field, if there was any concussive symptoms, they would be ruled out straight away.

‘But there wasn’t. Finn obviously passed everything that he was asked to pass. ‘In a way it’s great that there’s another check, which is us as a coaching staff saying: “No, you’re not right”. So that’s important. We definitely don’t want to cut any corners here. ‘It was more communication that [Scotland assistant coach] Pete Horne and a couple of other guys on the sideline were having with him.

‘We decided it wasn’t right. There were a couple of things he wasn’t remembering about plays. So we made the call not to put him back on. Darcy Graham, who collided with Russell, is also now a doubt for the trip to London. ‘I don’t know the protocols of passing an HIA and then being pulled out. He will now be classed as a failure, [due to] delayed symptoms. ‘I don’t know whether that will be just seven days. It’s based on his record and passing HIA too.’.

Townsend and his players will head to Spain next week for a warm-weather training camp before they take on an England team buoyed by their victory over France at the weekend. The Scotland head coach added: ‘England have been a really good team now for a while. ‘I think their defeats were against quality opposition, and they were within three or four points of beating New Zealand and Australia, whilst South Africa was a close game.

‘So, yeah, they’re going to be strong at home — we know that. And on the back of a win, I think they’ll be even more confident of where their game is. ‘Any fixture we play in the Six Nations is going to be tough and there’s going to be a lot of history in it. Will it narrow the focus? Yeah. ‘I think going to Twickenham is always a challenge, and even though we won there two years ago, that took a huge effort. That’s the level we have to deliver in two weeks’ time.’.