'It's a blow' - Scotland lock Scott Cummings out of November Tests

Glasgow coach Danny Wilson has lamented the hand injury to Scott Cummings that will rule the lock out of Scotland’s Autumn Tests.

The 24-year-old sustained ligament damage around his thumb during last weekend’s United Rugby Championship victory at home to the Sharks.

Cummings has undergone surgery and will now be sidelined for between six and eight weeks, meaning he will be unable to feature in any of the four upcoming matches for the national team against Tonga, Australia, South Africa and Japan.

Wilson said: “For Scott, for Glasgow and for Scotland it’s a blow that he’ll be out for a period of time. But that’s the game. It’s a short-term injury really, but long enough that it will have an impact.

“It’s unfortunate because I thought he was playing well, getting back to some really good form. He’s had surgery and starts the recovery process now so he’ll work hard to get himself back.”

Cummings’ club colleagues will bid to make it back-to-back home wins over South African opposition when they welcome the Lions, who have won one of their two league games so far, to Scotstoun on Saturday.

Wilson said: “The Lions are a dangerous outfit. Their first half against Zebre showed what they can do when they got out the blocks really quickly and scored some really good tries. They function well as a unit.

“They’ve got a massive forward pack and they’re a threat, there’s no doubt about that, so we’ve got to be on top of our game to come out of it with a home win.”

Jamie Bhatti, who returned to Glasgow for a second spell in January, will make his 50th appearance for the club against the Lions. Wilson is hoping his side – with seven points from a possible 10 so far – can build on an encouraging start to the campaign.

He said: “It’s been a pretty positive start for us. The first 50 minutes last week was the best rugby I think we’ve played since I’ve been here. We were outstanding.

“The game in Ulster I feel was one that got away. Two points away from home in Ulster is good in terms of getting points on the board, but I look back on it as a missed opportunity because I felt we could have nicked an away win.

“When you look at that plus our pre-season games, I think we’ve started pretty well but we’re pushing for a lot more than that. I want to see us approach this game the same way we did last week. We want to play fast and accurate. If we can keep that going, I think we’ll put the Lions under pressure.”