Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Sione Tuipulotu is set to embark on his bid to show he’s ready to be the British and Irish Lions’ key Australian threat to the Wallabies on the upcoming tour.
The Scotland captain, born and raised in Melbourne but qualified through his Scottish grandma, had looked a certainty to make the Lions squad, perhaps even as skipper, before being forced to miss the entire Six Nations tournament with a pectoral injury.
Out of action for three months, his absence from the international fray has left Tuipulotu’s chances somewhat up in the air but Glasgow’s head coach Franco Smith reported on Thursday that he should be back in action for the club in just over a fortnight.
Both Tuipulotu and his key fellow centre Huw Jones, who’s been out with an ankle injury since Scotland’s Test in France on March 15, will return for Glasgow’s URC match at Benetton in Italy on May 10, two days after Andy Farrell is due to name his Lions’ squad.
“Maybe in a couple of weeks, I hope that Sione will be ready to play against Benetton, the same with Huw,” said Smith of the duo who had originally been touted as potential starting centres for the Lions in the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane in July.
Tuipulotu and former Wallaby Jack Dempsey are among a group of Scots who’ll need to display their fitness for the fray before the Lions begin their tour with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.
Dempsey had been quietly impressing at No.8 during the Six Nations until he sustained a hamstring injury against Wales on March 8 and he hasn’t played since.
“Jack ran yesterday and we’re going to now progress that and see how he develops, but he’s definitely on track to be seen again this season,” said Smith.
Other Scots battling to return from injuries include Zander Fagerson, Matt Fagerson, Scott Cummings and star winger Duhan van der Merwe.
Glasgow tighthead prop Fagerson, a certainty for Lions inclusion if fit, is set to be out until at least June with a calf injury suffered in the lead-up to last week’s URC match against Zebre.
With PA
