Dunbar eyes end to his injury hell
AFTER the i njuryj i nxed 12 months he has had to endure, it is no wonder Alex Dunbar is desperate to return to action with Scotland in this Sunday’s Six Nations showdown against France.
In his very own annus horribilis, the 25-year- old from Dumfries missed out on Glasgow Warriors’ Pro12 final win over Munster, the entire World Cup and the start of this year’s Six Nations.
The centre’s tale of woe began last March when he had to undergo knee surgery that ruled him out for the rest of the season and into the start of the new one.
In October, just a month after making his comeback, he badly bruised his collar bone and damaged his ribs.
Then, a few weeks into his latest return to action in January, he tore his hamstring and hurt his thigh.
‘A few people told me that bad things come in threes, so I hope I have them out of the way now,’ said Dunbar.
‘First my knee, then I come back and do my collarbone and ribs and come back again and do my hamstring. It is more frustration than anything but, hopefully, I can now concentrate on the rugby.
‘If I take to the field against France I will be delighted.
‘To be out for so long and to have aspirations of coming back and then being injured again has been frustrating. Now I am playing well and I’m on a little run. I’m just concentrating on playing as it’s no fun sitting on the sidelines.’
Dunbar, who has played just four league games for Glasgow this season — the last two in a row — joined up with the rest of the Scotland squad yesterday ahead of Sunday’s match at Murrayfield.
He looks certain to start or at the very least be on the bench in what will be his first game for his country since l ast February’s Six Nations home defeat to Italy.
Shortly afterwards, he picked up his ankle injury while training with the Scots ahead of their following match against England.
Pulling on a dark blue jersey again cannot come quickly enough for the 14-times- capped centre, who admitted the past 12 months have been the toughest he has had to cope with.
Throughout it all, though, he was never forgotten by head coach Vern Cotter, who has always rated him highly and encouraged him every step of the way on his return to action.
It was on Cotter’s instructions that Dunbar was sent to the USA to be treated by a knee rehabilitation specialist, who had previously worked with Jonny Wilkinson.
And last week, the day before Glasgow’s match against Cardiff Blues, the Scotland head coach asked Gregor Townsend to play Dunbar for 40 minutes only to reduce the risk of further injury.
Knowing he was always on Cotter’s radar, despite all his injury setbacks, meant the farmer’s son never lost heart on his lonely road back to full fitness.
‘Confidence-wise, that was a boost, but I had to show on the pitch when I returned to the Glasgow team that I deserve a Scotland place,’ said Dunbar.
‘ I caught up with Scotland people now and again when I was out injured and Matt Taylor is defence coach at Glasgow and Scotland, so I was al ways speaking to him.
‘I had a rehab process and the coaches were really understanding. I was able to do my own sessions alongside the Scotland boys and I still felt part of it up until the World Cup.
‘It was tough only watching the Scotland games during the World Cup, but some of my close mates were playing and I was cheering them on.
‘It was a little bit easier when the boys were doing well but, for me being out for so long, I had to find a balance. I couldn’t be switched on to rugby all the time when I was injured. I needed the downtime to get away and do my own thing.
‘I went away and did a bit of farming. Anything to get away from rugby for a while.’
When he finally makes his return to the i nternational fold this weekend, Dunbar will be hoping to partner Duncan Taylor in the centre, although Peter Horne and Mark Bennett are two other strong candidates.
But he i s delighted to have rejoined a happy camp, boosted by their first Six Nations win in 10 games, against Italy in Rome.
‘There’s a good buzz about the squad, the boys are laughing and joking,’ he said. ‘ It’s all pretty positive. We just have to knuckle down this week and look at France.’