Hogg and Laidlaw step up recovery to give Scotland a boost
Scotland have received a boost ahead of the Six Nations after Stuart Hogg and Greig Laidlaw were lined up for comebacks from injury.
Hogg has been named in Glasgow’s starting line-up for their European Champions Cup clash with Exeter on Saturday. The British and Irish Lions full-back has not played since dropping out of Scotland’s victory over Australia in November with a hip problem minutes before kick-off.
Scrum-half Laidlaw could be back in action for Clermont Auvergne following a broken leg before he joins up with the Scotland squad next week.
Laidlaw has not yet featured for Scotland under Gregor Townsend and has lost the captaincy to John Barclay, but he will be on the bench when his club take on Ospreys in a European clash on Saturday. The former Edinburgh and Gloucester player has been out for three months.
Hogg’s international team-mates Tommy Seymour and Alex Dunbar will also make their comebacks in Warriors’ final pool match at Scotstoun on Saturday, in their last chance to build up match-sharpness ahead of the Six Nations opener against Wales on February 3.
Centre Dunbar has not played this year because of a knee injury while wing Seymour will start for the first time since suffering a foot problem in the first of Glasgow’s double header against Edinburgh on December 23.
All three returning Glasgow players were named in Townsend’s 40-man Six Nations squad on Tuesday along with Warriors captain Ryan Wilson, who again misses out with an ankle injury this weekend.
The back-row forward has not featured since a European defeat to Montpellier in mid-December.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh have handed starts to five members of Townsend’s squad for their final pool match against Stade Francais in the European Challenge Cup.
Murray McCallum, Magnus Bradbury, Cornell du Preez, Nathan Fowles and Mark Bennett will start in Paris on Saturday.