Glasgow’s Richie Vernon faces another nine months on the sidelines as the versatile Dundonian continues to be cursed by injury.
Vernon underwent surgery this week on the achilles injury he suffered in the Warriors’ defeat of Dragons two weeks ago, which is likely to put him out of action for the rest of this year.
The 29-year-old, capped in the centre and in the back row for Scotland, was only just back from a three-month spell out with a shoulder injury, and that was a recurrence in November of a problem that caused him to miss the second half of last season.
Vernon won 20 caps in the back row for Scotland including a spot in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011 before making the switch to centre in 2013.
The former High School of Dundee pupil starred for Glasgow in their run to the PRO12 title in his new position and won a place in the 2015 World Cup squad, winning a further four caps, the last of them in the Rugby World Cup against South Africa.
However since his shoulder injury struck he has played just a handful of games and his current contract with the Warriors finishes at the end of this season.