Adam Ashe and Alex Dunbar will miss the Calcutta Cup clash with England, Scottish Rugby has confirmed.
Back row Ashe suffered a shoulder injury in club side Glasgow Warriors’ defeat to Northampton Saints earlier this month and is expected to miss the opening two matches of the RBS 6 Nations championships.
Centre Dunbar, who missed the World Cup with knee ligament damage, is currently undergoing treatment for a posterior thigh strain and will be missing for “the coming weeks”.
Scottish Rugby said: “Scotland duo Adam Ashe and Alex Dunbar have returned to their club, Glasgow Warriors, having been ruled out of the first part of the RBS 6 Nations Championship through injury.
“The pair will continue their recovery and ongoing assessment under the care of the Glasgow Warriors medical team.”
Earlier this week head coach Vern Cotter questioned Scotland’s lack of strength in depth and rated centre Mark Bennett’s chances of being fit to face England next weekend as “50-50”.
“We’ve got some good character and we’ve got some good individuals, but if we get banged up we know what that means,” said Cotter.
“The players believe they can be competitive. A lot of things in this game are based on momentum so starting well will be important.
“We don’t want to add stress and weight on the shoulders of the players. They want to win every game.”
Click here for the complete fixture list, with TV coverage, of the 2016 RBS 6 Nations
