Gloucester Rugby face a challenge ahead of their Round Two Gallagher Premiership match against Harlequins at Kingsholm this Saturday, as key pre-season performer Phil Cokanasiga is set to be sidelined with an injury.
Cokanasiga has impressed in the number 13 jersey during his two appearances since joining from Ospreys. However, he sustained a foot injury in the final minutes of last weekend’s 45-24 victory at Exeter Chiefs, pulling up after intercepting the ball just before Junior Denny’s late try.
Head coach George Skivington provided an update on the squad’s fitness: “We’re not too bad. I think Phil would be the one. We’re not quite sure where we are with Phil yet. He seemed to hurt his foot as he was running at the end. So we’re just checking that he is all right.
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“Apart from that, we’re pretty fit and healthy. We looked after them at the front end of the week, and they’ve trained well today. Phil, having performed so well, is further ahead than we thought he would be, so that’s a nice bonus; it is a pity he has got a niggle.”
With Cokanasiga likely out and Max Llewellyn still recovering from injury, the composition of Gloucester’s midfield for the weekend is under consideration. Will Joseph, who scored a remarkable try from the wing last week, is expected to shift to 13 to partner Seb Atkinson.
Skivington remarked, “We’ve got some good options in the midfield this season, and I think it’s really exciting. We’ve got Will Knight, who’s a real prospect. Max Knight, his brother, was probably our best player in the Premiership Cup in those two games.
“We’ve got lots of options, it’s just about getting the balance right.”
Regarding the wing position, Skivington confirmed that Ollie Thorley is fully fit and could be included if Joseph moves into the midfield. Thorley missed the Exeter game due to selection decisions rather than injury.
In the forwards, lock Joe Joyce, who joined from Connacht in the summer, returns to contention after recovering from a knock sustained during the Premiership Rugby Cup loss to Bristol Bears three weeks ago.
However, Gloucester have suffered a significant setback with prop Jamal Ford-Robinson. The versatile front-row player sustained a serious hamstring injury during a behind-closed-doors match against Bristol on the same day as the Premiership Rugby Cup game. The injury required surgery and is expected to keep him out for at least a couple of months.
Skivington commented, “It is definitely severe enough that he’s had surgery. I’m not 100 per cent sure if it came off the bone or not, but he has had to have surgery on his hamstring, which is an unusual one for a prop, but unfortunate.”
Gloucester will hope to manage these fitness concerns effectively as they seek to build on their promising start to the Premiership season.