'It's a bit of a coach's nightmare' - Edinburgh lose two new signings

Edinburgh have suffered a double blow on the eve of the new season with two of their summer signings facing long spells out after picking up “serious” injuries in a pre-season friendly against Ulster.

Scottish-qualified prop Rhys Litterick, who arrived from Cardiff this summer, ruptured his Achilles tendon inside the first quarter of Friday’s game in Belfast.

Edinburgh are still awaiting a full prognosis on the 26-year-old tighthead, but he is likely to be facing months on the sidelines.

Centre Charlie McCaig, a summer arrival from Exeter Chiefs, also sustained a knee injury in his first outing for the club.

The capital side are already without one of their five senior centres, Mosese Tuipulotu, who is not expected to return to action until December after knee surgery.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a coach’s nightmare when you’re going to a friendly and you have two serious injuries like that,” said head coach Sean Everitt.

“Unfortunately, Rhys Litterick has an Achilles rupture. We don’t know [how long he will be out for] at this stage. Obviously, we’ll get the surgeon’s opinion first and take the necessary medical processes and decide from there.

“We’re still waiting for more on Charlie’s knee injury. He went for his MRI at lunchtime, so we’ll get those results this evening and then we’ll know what it is.”

Although Litterick could miss a chunk of the season, Everitt said the club would not be trying to bring in additional cover at this stage.

Paul Hill, their first-choice tighthead last term, has returned to full fitness after missing the last nine games of last season with a neck problem, with D’Arcy Rae and Angus Williams providing further options.

Everitt said Scotland Under-20s prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, who has been training with the senior squad, could also see his development accelerated.

“Fortunately, we’ve five tighthead props,” he said. “It just means that we’ve got one less, but four is what most teams would have, so we’re comfortable with that.

“We’re happy where Ollie is from a set-piece point of view. He’s been training with the senior group, to get him accustomed to the intensity and obviously the movement that is required for him at this level.

“We all know he has potential, and it’s a great opportunity for him to step up now, knowing that there’s a possibility that he might get an opportunity this year.”

Edinburgh already have 11 players on the injured list as they prepare for a double-header of warm-up games against English Championship sides Doncaster and Ealing Trailfinders this Friday, a week before their opening URC fixture away to Zebre.

Scotland back-rower Ben Muncaster has picked up a back injury in pre-season that will keep him out until at least their second URC match against Ulster, while fly-half Ben Healy is still struggling with a patellar tendon knee issue from last season.

British & Irish Lions trio Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Pierre Schoeman won’t be involved in Friday’s friendlies, but Everitt is optimistic all three could be available for their URC opener, including Graham, who is recovering from an ankle injury sustained early on his Lions debut after joining the tour of Australia as a replacement.

“Our target was to get him back on the field for the first URC game,” Everitt added. “We weren’t going to rush things if he wasn’t 100 per cent. But he’s coming through rather quickly now and he’ll be joining parts of our training on Thursday.”