The Herald reports

Beattie woe leaves Glasgow exposed
Published on 26 Jul 2010

Kevin Ferrie

John Beattie has been ruled out of Scotland’s autumn Tests with a shoulder injury while a similar problem for James Eddie, his fellow back-row forward, and a further ailment for Calum Forrester has left Glasgow Warriors’ resources stretched entering the new season.

The first two are undergoing surgery this week in a turn of events that further exposes the risk taken in replacing senior internationalists with relatively young or untried players. That was an issue when Dan Parks was allowed to join Cardiff Blues, leaving Ruaridh Jackson, his injury-prone understudy of recent seasons, and teenager Duncan Weir as the main playmaking contenders, but had looked to be less so at back-row, when Kelly Brown was released to join Saracens.

Not always as eye-catching as John Barclay and Beattie, Brown’s ability to play all three back-row positions to the highest standard arguably made him the most valuable of the three, however. And since Eddie, who dislocated his left shoulder in training last week, was a strong contender to replace him, it now means Glasgow must turn to youth from the off and for a prolonged period.

Beattie, meanwhile, is trying to remain upbeat, despite being set to miss the first phase of matches in the Heineken Cup in October, and therefore the autumn Tests against New Zealand, the current No.1 nation, world champions South Africa and Samoa.

“It’s probably too early to say definitively how long I’ll be out,” Beattie insisted. “Prior to the operation, the surgeon is talking about a six-month window to get back but that’s quite cautious and if I regain the strength at the same level as my right shoulder then it should be sooner.”

This article was originally posted on 27-Jul-2010, 06:23 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 27-Jul-2010, 06:32.