Although the Dragons physio room is beginning to empty, the Heineken Cup clash against Glasgow on Friday night will only see one return as several players eye the round six match against Gloucester to get back on the pitch.
Rising star Danny Lydiate is set to return from a hamstring injury for the round 5 match at Firhill Arena whilst Ben Castle and Ashley Smith are hoped to be available for next weekend’s match along with scrum half pair Alex Walker and Wayne Evans.
The absence of Walker and Evans has given academy graduate James Leadbeater the opportunity to build on his senior career after making his debut against Biarritz last month.
“Glasgow are similar to the Dragons,” said Dragons Head Coach Paul Turner. It’s not all stars but a workman like side with a couple of key players we’ve always been aware of. Although we have a good record against them, the fact that they are riding high at the top of the league and the fact that they’ve made Firhill a bit of a fortress means that this definitely won’t be an easy game.
“Christmas has not been a happy time for us. The Friday match against Biarritz where we became victims of the weather in more ways than one was a tough one for us and effectively stopped what had been a good run for us. I’ve always said that Europe can damage you if you’re not 100% on your game, with a few players unavailable.
“The weather’s been very tough to deal with. We’ve been training all over the place and it feels like we’ve been at the Vale of Glamorgan forever. It is a great facility and we’re lucky to have access to it but it’s very difficult with the moving around to keep continuity.
“The only longer-term guys are Joe Bearman – who we’re expecting a decision on over the next couple of days and Nigel Hall.
“In any sport, if you’re not playing well and things go against you, you have to be able to fight back. We’re doing things very well in training, it’s just a question of making sure that we get these things right on the pitch.”
Dragons Squad for Glasgow
Backs:
Jason Tovey, Martyn Thomas Aled Brew, Rhodri Gomer Davies, Rom Riley, Richard Fussell, Matthew Watkins, James Arlidge, Shaun Connor, James Leadbeater, Danny Lee
Forwards:
Hugh Gustafson, Ali McKenzie, Tom Willis (c) Steve Jones, Peter Bracken, Gethin Robinson, Rob Sidoli, Luke Charteris, Hoani MacDonald, Adam Jones, Grant Webb, Danny Lydiate, Lewis Evans, Gavin Thomas
