Cameron Redpath's availability for the rest of the Six Nations has become an unknown after he was ruled out of Scotland's clash against Wales this weekend.
Head coach Gregor Townsend said the newly-capped centre will ‘miss the next few weeks', having made three changes to the side which defeated England 11-6 in the opening round of the Six Nations.
In the aftermath of the victory, a neck issue forced Redpath to undergo a scan which confirmed he will miss some time.
“He presented with a neck issue the day after the game, which hasn't improved,” Townsend explained.
“We have been liaising with his club [Bath] after a scan on his neck. He will probably miss the next few weeks but we just never know how quickly these neck issues resolve, but we are optimistic he will be back involved with us at some point later in the championship.
“It's a neck issue and you're just waiting to see how it recovers. There is a neural element there and we're just waiting (for him) to get his strength back.”
Redpath's absence after he played the full 80 minutes tp help Scotland get their championship off to a winning start with their first triumph at Twickenham since 1983 comes as a big setback to Townsend's plans.
Harlequins centre James Lang has been drafted into the starting line-up for the visit of Wales to Murrayfield, with James Ritchie (hamstring) and Sean Maitland (achilles/knee) also ruled out for Scotland.
Blade Thomson and Darcy Graham will step into the fray in the back row and on the wing, respectively.
“Sean had a couple of niggles that were affecting his achilles and his knee which was going to mean he wasn't going to be able to train this week but we expect him to be back next week, probably down with his club [Saracens] in London,” Townsend added.
“Jamie had a hamstring which tightened up during the game. He had to come off but it's not a serious injury. We expect him to be back in full training next week or if not then in the French week.”
Scotland team to play Wales in 2021 Six Nations
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (capt), 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price; 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Ferguson, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Blade Thomson, 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Matt Ferguson
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 WP Nel, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Huw Jones
