Scotland and Edinburgh have been dealt a serious blow with the news that Darcy Graham is unlikely to play again this year.
The winger has endured a wretched time with injuries throughout his career, with the latest setback a ruptured bicep sustained in last weekend’s friendly against Harlequins that will keep him sidelined for at least 12 weeks.
That will see the 29-year-old miss out on Edinburgh’s opening United Rugby Championship match away to Ulster on Friday night and then the rest of the first block of club fixtures, plus Scotland’s Nations Championship home series in November against New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
It is not the first extended spell on the sidelines that the Hawick-born back has had to deal with since he first broke through for club and country eight years ago.
He suffered a medial collateral ligament knee injury in December 2022 that saw him miss the entirety of the 2023 Six Nations, before he was troubled by niggling hip and thigh problems sustained in the World Cup defeat to Ireland later that year.
Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer then underwent groin surgery in February 2024 that led to him again being sidelined for the Six Nations and most of the rest of that year.
Darcy Graham is tackled in an international game this year against Fiji
Then, most notably, there was the ankle ligament injury picked up in July last year just 16 minutes into his British and Irish Lions debut against the First Nations & Pasifika XV that ruled him out for the rest of that tour.
Graham recovered from that setback to play 25 times for club and country last season, scoring 13 tries including a hat-trick against the United States.
Now, though, he is unlikely to be seen again on a rugby field before the first leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield on December 27.
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt said: ‘Darcy got a contusion on his bicep in a collision on the weekend. He was training on Monday when we got the MRI report that he’s ruptured his bicep.
‘So, that’s not good news for us and not good news for him, especially with the autumn [international] series coming up. He’ll be out for 12 weeks minimum. It will be around [Christmas before he’s potentially back].
‘It’s not an injury that you can rush a player back from. Some players heal quicker than others. That would be the worst-case scenario for us and I have to prepare that way.
‘We have got depth in that position. Fortunately for us, we’ve got Duhan van der Merwe returning probably in the next three weeks. We’ve got Harry Paterson who should be ready to go next week. So we’re well covered there.’
Graham in action for Edinburgh against Harlequins
Graham is not the only injury worry for Everitt, who has 17 players listed as unavailable for the opening match in Belfast.
He added: ‘Unfortunately, we’ve had a few injuries but that’s the nature of pre-season. I’ve been chatting to some of my fellow colleagues and coaches at other franchises and everyone’s in the same boat. We haven’t had much luck as far as that’s concerned.
‘Jack Brown’s had surgery on an MCL ligament tear that he picked up against Ealing. So, he’s also out for 12 to 16 weeks. Ben Muncaster went for his MRI yesterday afternoon and we’ll get the results of that today. Those two guys haven’t had much luck either.
‘Ewan Ashman is part of a group of players that were under discussion to return to play either the first or second round of the URC. Ewan struggled in the off-season with some issues that he picked up over the summer.
‘During the build-up to this game tomorrow night, he pulled up short with a bit of stiffness. It’s best that he doesn’t play tomorrow night.
‘And some of the injuries have been pretty freakish. Mosese Tuipulotu got knocked out on the field on Friday night by his fellow teammate. So, it’s not great. But at the same time, it’s an opportunity for us to once again grow depth in the squad.’
