Edinburgh provide bleak update on Emiliano Boffelli injury

Edinburgh have confirmed they expect to be without full-back Emiliano Boffelli for a large chunk of the season as the Argentine star prepares for further surgery on a longstanding back problem.

The 29-year-old had returned to full training in pre-season and was named on the bench for the Scottish side’s United Rugby Championship opener against Leinster a fortnight ago.

But after being forced to withdraw from the match-day 23 with a recurrence of an issue which restricted him to just five starts for his club last season after returning from the Rugby World Cup, the experienced Puma is now facing another prolonged period on the sidelines.

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“It’s the same injury that he picked up last season,” said Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt on Friday. “He’s going to have to undergo a surgical opinion from surgeons and see what the next step is on his way back to recovery.

“It’s definitely not a couple of weeks. We’re looking at probably four to five months here.”

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Such an absence would see Boffelli miss at least eight, possibly 10, more of Edinburgh’s URC fixtures including a double-header with Glasgow over the festive period, as well as their four group games in the European Challenge Cup across December and January.

While New Zealander Wes Goosen will continue in the No 15 jersey for Saturday’s URC fixture against the Lions in Johannesburg, Everitt did have a positive bulletin on Scotland full-back Harry Paterson.

The 23-year-old, who made his Test debut against France in the Six Nations earlier this year after just nine senior outings for his club, and won two more caps on Scotland’s summer tour, sustained a nasty cut to his ankle while closing the glass door of a sauna.

“Harry has recovered from his laceration and he’s training back home,” Everitt reported from Johannesburg. “Unfortunately that injury happened in the fifth week of pre-season so he’s got a bit of work to do to become game-ready. Hopefully, we’re looking at him being available for selection when we get home, or the week after (Edinburgh host Stormers on 12 October, then Cardiff the following week).

“He’s had no luck at all. Unfortunately, he’s been ravaged by injury over the last couple of years. He tends to play more games for Scotland than he does for Edinburgh. He had the three games prior to his selection for the Six Nations and did really well and we’re looking forward to being able to select him. It’s great for him as an individual and us as a club that we’ve got a guy at home with international experience now that can fill holes within our group.”

Everitt confirmed he will also be without the experienced Mark Bennett for the rest of this month after the centre was forced off early in last Saturday’s 22-16 defeat by the Bulls in Pretoria with a quad injury.

“Unfortunately, he’s got quite a big tear in his quad, so he’ll be out for several weeks,” he said. “Luckily for us, we’ve certainly bolstered our centres with the arrival of Mosese (Tuipulotu). Ross McCann did well when he played there and we’ve obviously got Matt Scott as well, so we’ve got depth in that position.”

McCann, a specialist winger who Edinburgh recruited from the GB Sevens squad this summer, replaced Bennett last week and starts alongside Scott on Saturday, with the fit-again Tuipulotu returning on the bench.

Another centre, Matt Currie, who suffered a hamstring injury in Edinburgh’s opening 31-33 home defeat by Leinster, should be in contention to face Stormers next week.

“Matt has progressed well,” Everitt added. “For us to have played him this weekend would have been a risk. Next week he’ll be up for selection at 100% and that’s what we want within our group. There’s no need to rush Matt back. We need him for the long run.”

Everitt also added that the ankle injury which forced off experienced hooker Dave Cherry against the Bulls is “not too serious” and he will be “back in a few weeks”.

Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman steps up from the bench to start against the Lions, with Patrick Harrison joining the replacements.
Everitt has also rotated his half-back pairing, with co-captain Ben Vellacott and Ben Healy taking over from Ali Price and Ross Thompson, who move to the bench.

Edinburgh XV
15. Wes Goosen
14. Darcy Graham
13. Ross McCann
12. Matt Scott
11. Duhan van der Merwe
10. Ben Healy
9. Ben Vellacott (co-capt)
1. Pierre Schoeman
2. Ewan Ashman
3. Paul Hill
4. Marshall Sykes
5. Grant Gilchrist (co-capt)
6. Jamie Ritchie
7. Hamish Watson
8. Magnus Bradbury

Replacements
16. Patrick Harrison
17. Boan Venter
18. D’arcy Rae
19. Jamie Hodgson
20. Ben Muncaster
21. Ali Price
22. Ross Thompson
23. Mosese Tuipulotu