Scotland face an anxious wait to learn if talisman Finn Russell will be fit for next Sunday’s Test against Argentina at Murrayfield.
The stand-off required treatment on his knee on more than one occasion in Saturday’s agonising 25-17 defeat by New Zealand before being substituted in the closing stages after also sustaining an ankle issue.
With British and Irish Lions pair Huw Jones and Zander Fagerson having missed out on Saturday, head coach Gregor Townsend is hoping he does not lose another key player for what promises to be an arduous encounter against the burgeoning Pumas.
“His knee was the initial injury, and I thought he was outstanding, even though he had that knee strain,” Townsend said of Russell. “The reason we took him off was because he had an ankle too, so there were two injuries he was carrying.
“He doesn’t think it’ll be serious, but it’s obviously too early to say. We hope he’ll be fit for next week, but we have to deal with injuries. We had two Lions who weren’t available for the New Zealand game, but we’ve got other players that can step up.”
Scotland were left devastated after letting a golden opportunity slip to notch their first-ever win over New Zealand on Saturday.
After trailing 17-0 at the break following tries by Cam Roigard and Will Jordan, the Scots roared back to level the match by the hour mark courtesy of tries from Ewan Ashman and Kyle Steyn, and a penalty from Russell.
When the All Blacks lost a third player to a yellow card early in the fourth quarter – Wallace Sititi followed Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea in being sent to the sin-bin – Scotland appeared to have their chance.
But the Kiwis regained their composure and got themselves back in front with a sensational finish in the 73rd minute from replacement Damian McKenzie, who then sealed the win with a long-range penalty.
Townsend said: “The reality is that there’s always a winner and a loser in sport, and this is not the final game in our season or the final game in the players’ careers.
“They’ve got one next week. We’d love to play New Zealand more regularly. We will play them next year in the new Nations Championship, so we just have to make the most of the opportunities we get. But if we don’t, then we make sure we become a better team for it.
“We’ve been a better team off defeats and victories, and even how we played from first half to second half. There were a lot of good things in the first half.
“But to not have your spirit broken by being held up twice, and to concede a try right on half-time, and come back and get to 17-all, and also just dominate all facets of play in that 20-25 minute period, it shows what the team’s capable of.
“We just have to make sure that over the next two weeks we get to build and grow together. You’re only here for a short period of time in November, but that’s a very useful game for us, for the Six Nations too, against a really quality opposition.”