Richie Gray will be missing for “weeks not months” from the Scotland squad during the NatWest Six Nations with a calf strain but while brother Jonny is missing him, he still expects to have his input for the first few weeks of the championship.
The elder Gray has missed that last seven Scotland tests over 10 months recovering from back surgery but had made a successful comeback with club Toulouse in the last few weeks until he was derailed by his latest problem.
The 64-times capped lock did not report to Oriam for the start of the final week of preparation for the championship opener against Wales in Cardiff, staying in France to continue his recovery.
He’s definitely out of the Cardiff game on Saturday and likely out of the second match against France eight days later, although assistant coach Mike Blair reckoned he’d return to camp “sooner rather than later”.
“We’re talking weeks not months,” he said.
Meanwhile younger brother Jonny is likely to link up with either Ben Toolis, his starting partner for the first two autumn tests, or Grant Gilchrist, who locked with him in the rout of Australia to finish the November campaign.
“They’re both great players,” he said. “But I miss Rich, I haven’t seen him for a while.
“We speak at least once a week on the phone. I just texted him just now! I don’t think the calf strain is too serious, but I’m gutted for him.
“Just as a rugby player it’s great to have him about, training and working with him and getting his ideas. But he’s never too far away on the phone, he’s always available to speak about different things.”
But despite the competitive nature of the sessions, Gray and the other locks are continually bouncing ideas off each other.
“We all share different ideas on what works. We’ll do a mauling session or a lineout session and it’ll be intense then, but five minutes later you talk about it and say you could have done this or that differently.
“We compete really hard but we have to give each other feedback to benefit the forward pack and the team. I learn about how Edinburgh do things or how Toulouse do things. It all makes you a better player.”
The Scots haven’t even discussed Wales’ crippling injury list that has left them without at least seven first-choice players, he added.
“Every squad has injuries and it’s just something you have to deal with,” he said. “But you look at the depth they have in Wales, the guys they have in form and how well their teams have done in Europe.
“The Principality is such a special place. I’ve been fortunate enough to play there once and it was an incredible atmosphere.
“We know how tough it’s going to be. The passion of their fans is something we’re looking forward to. We’ll enjoy the atmosphere, it’s what you want as a rugby player.”
