'For the rest of his career': Glasgow give injury update on Lion Huw Jones

British and Irish Lions tourist Huw Jones will have to manage his current Achilles problem for the rest of his career, believes Glasgow head coach Franco Smith, after the Scotland centre was ruled out of Friday’s URC quarter-final against Stormers.

Jones returned to action against Benetton earlier this month for the first time since the Six Nations and also started Warriors’ last game of the regular season against Leinster on May 17.

He was pencilled in to start against the Stormers but after his Achilles flared up again on Tuesday, Glasgow have opted to treat the issue conservatively to give him the best chance of being fit for a potential semi-final and final.

Smith insisted there is no threat to Jones’ participation in the Lions’ tour of Australia, with their pre-departure match against Argentina in Dublin only three weeks away.

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“Unfortunately since the Six Nations, Huw has been struggling with it,” Smith explained. “It’s not a muscle injury, it’s a tendon issue. It flares up and it takes a lot of time to get the inflammation gone, so he’s not been available.

“When this thing reoccurred at the back end of last week, it looked treatable and we’ve managed it well. But it just flared up again on Tuesday. Unfortunately now for him, we have to go and have a deeper look to see if we can get him fixed and get the inflammation down so he’ll be able to play in any other game that hopefully we will play going forward.”

Smith said different factors could ignite Jones’ tendonitis – “like different field surfaces, training load, rehabilitation” and it would be an issue the 31-year-old will need to cope with for the rest of his playing days.

“Without becoming a doctor in five minutes, I can honestly state that it’s something that will be managed for the rest of his career,” Smith said. “By the last five years of my own career, I had similar problems, so I can relate to what’s happening to him.

“Unfortunately, you pick up a little bit of wear and tear through the years. Now at the later stage of one’s career, it always influences things a little bit. But it is treatable, it is manageable and I’m sure he’ll be back fighting as early as next week.

“Huw is an important player for us and it’s important that he gets well. I think he’s going to play a lot of rugby still in the summer. Our concern about Huw at this moment is obviously being looked at and seeing specialists and making sure we find the right way to treat that and to recover him so he’s available as soon as possible.”

In Jones’ absence, Stafford McDowall will partner Sione Tuipulotu in a strong backline which sees Josh McKay return at full-back, Kyle Rowe start on the right wing ahead of Sebastian Cancelliere and Tom Jordan restored to fly-half.

“Stafford’s been playing well and has shown the whole season that he’s put up his hand for responsibility,” Smith added. “There’s no better replacement for us. He’s going to do his thing like he’s always done for us.”

With another Lion, Zander Fagerson, still recovering from a calf injury, Smith has handed a first start of the season, after two appearances off the bench in their last two games, to Murphy Walker at tighthead.

The 25-year-old has won five Scotland caps but after two years blighted by neck problems and lengthy periods on the sidelines, Friday will be just his 18th outing for Glasgow since late 2021 and only his eighth start for the club.

His last two – against the Bulls and Lions in South Africa towards the end of last season – both ended after barely 30 minutes, although Smith stressed that was for “strategic and tactical” reasons.

“Murphy’s played Test match rugby for Scotland, he’s a seasoned campaigner, he knows what it’s like,” Smith added. “I’m proud of him, he’s worked hard, he’s stuck to it, he’s rehabilitated. He’s handled the disappointments, the setbacks and fought back.

“We are confident with him there. He’s not new to being thrown in at the deep end. He’s played already some quality Test matches, so his ability is there and I’m really glad for him. He’s an example for other young guys that if setbacks happen, if you stick to task, opportunities like this can arise.”

Glasgow beat Stormers 27-10 at Scotstoun at the same stage last year en route to winning the URC title with memorable away wins over Munster and the Bulls.

Despite slipping from second to fourth place in the table in recent weeks and facing a likely away semi-final against Leinster if they overcome the South African side, Smith is confident the experience gained from 11 previous knockout games during his tenure will serve his side well.

“I’m not concerned at all about how we got to where we are,” he added. “I’m actually excited about it. We’ve done some really good stuff and the team will be better going forward because of all the lessons learned. We’re excited about playing in this final part of the competition with a different mentality.”