Glasgow Warriors | Tuipulotu can play a part at business end of the season
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January 22, 2025

Tuipulotu can play a part at business end of the season

Posted by Editor on January 22, 2025 10:23 AM | No comments | Print | E-mail author

Sione Tuipulotuv is expected to be sidelined for up to five months
Sione Tuipulotu has been ruled out of Scotland's Six Nations campaign and the centre will also miss a number of Glasgow's URC games and Champions Cup knockout tie.

The Scotland skipper, who is expected to be sidelined for up to five months, was a front runner for selection win the British & Irish Lions' summer tour to Australia. However, Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan is confident that Tuipulotu has enough "credit in the bank" to make the squad despite the injury setback.

Glasgow were going to be without Tuipulotu over the coming weeks, as he would have been with the Scotland squad, but are set to be without their most influential player until the last few weeks of the season.

Speaking to The Offside Line, Carolan said: "Look, we wouldn't have seen Sione until at least the end of the Six Nations and probably the following game. But it's even a bigger blow to himself. He's obviously devastated."

Tuipulotu picked up the injury during a training session last week at Scotstoun.

"[It was a] very innocuous injury," Carolan continued, referring to the incident. "Nobody's fault, it's just one of those things.

"He trained with the opposition last week and [it was] just how he reached out. He was in defence and his arm just got stretched a little bit in a funny position. It wasn't even in contact and he just felt a bit of a pull and he pulled it, you know, he withdrew himself immediately.

"So he knew there was something there, but obviously he's devastated to the extent, particularly about how it occurred. It was, as I said, very innocuous and very unassuming in a non-contact situation. So not only is he devastated, I'm sure he's a big loss to Scotland, you know, over their campaign.

"But I still think he's got enough credit in the bank in terms of his British and Irish Lions selection. I think he's been one of the form centres in European rugby over the last couple of years and I think there's ample time when he returns to get himself ready to get on the plane to Australia.

"As you get to the business end [of the season], I think he's going to return at a very good time for, hopefully, ourselves, with all the crunch games that hopefully are going to be there at the end of the year.

"If Sione takes to his rehab half as diligently as he does preparation for games, I think that [recovery] time will definitely be shortened. He's a very diligent pro and, as much as he prepares to play, I'm sure he'll prepare to recover as well. So I'm sure whatever length of time it is, he'll make sure that it's at a minimum."

Warriors and Scotland will also have to do without Scott Cummings after the lock forward injured in an arm in the defeat by Harlequins on Saturday night. "He immediately felt a sharp pain, suspected a fracture, got it x-rayed, but [it was] a little bit inconclusive," Carolan added. "So he's due for a CT scan today to further investigate.

"The initial prognosis would be a fracture, which could be six to eight weeks. So that would be obviously devastating for himself as well. But hopefully the CT scans will show up that it's not as bad as first feared. But we've just got to wait and see."