“Ben Healy is back from his [knee] injury, so we’re fortunate that we’ve got three international quality fly-halves available to us, and he will step up to hopefully continue in the form that he produced in the first URC season that I was here [2023-24],” said the coach, who then indicated that the 26-year-old’s lack of game-time last season was not so much about form as match fitness.

“That was unfortunate for Ben. He’s struggled with the tendinopathy in his knee since early in the year. So we’ve been managing that conservatively over time, and he didn’t get the minutes that he wanted in the latter part of the URC, but obviously there’s an opportunity now with his full recovery that he can build some consistency, which will be great for us if he can produce the form that he has [shown in the past] and which earned him a Scottish call-up.”

Meanwhile, Everitt said it is not possible at this stage to predict when centre Matt Currie will return to action, explaining that:  “We were away in Lensbury [for a pre-season training camp] and he had symptoms of vertigo. So not ideal for him.”

“We’ve done a lot of reading and research on Will Jordan [the New Zealand full-back] who had a similar condition. It is something that you cannot put a timeline on. So we’ll just wait and see. It could be a week, it could be eight months like Will Jordan. We’re not sure.”

“It must be a frustrating time for him but we are around him and supporting him and he’s doing his rehabilitation. It’s not as though he’s not involved in rugby. He’s doing conditioning in the gym and hand-eye coordination. So hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

With Currie, McCaig and Mosese Tuipulotu (out until December with a knee injury) all missing for the foreseeable future, Edinburgh are beginning to look stretched at centre, with James Lang and Piers O’Conor the only senior squad members who could be described as specialists in the 12 and 13 jerseys – but Everitt says he would have no qualms about calling on academy prospect Fin Thomson as he did when Edinburgh took on Connacht towards the tail-end of last season.

“Fin’s been in our system for quite a while now,” said Everitt. “”He got a good few minutes against Bundee Aki when we were playing against Connacht and he did really well in that position. He’s had good minutes in the friendlies that we’ve played and he’s shown some good touches on the ball, so I think he’s one for the future and it’s great that we’ve got a youngster like that coming in and covering us there.

“And we do have utilities. Ross McCann can play 13 and has played 13 in the URC before. If the push comes to the shove, we can move a guy like Wes Goosen to 13.”

Everitt also confirmed that summer Lions tourists Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman will be in the selection mix this weekend, although it is still at leas a week too soon for Darcy Graham.

“Duhan and Pierre will be good to go. They are up for selection. We’ll just have to manage their load on the weekend. Looking forward to seeing them back. They’re not only good rugby players, but they also add a lot to the environment as well. They offer a lot of leadership. And as we all know, they’re world-class players.”

Finally, Everitt played down but didn’t totally dismiss rumours that Edinburgh are looking at trying to recruit Scotland scrum-half Ben White when his contract with Toulon runs out at the end of the season.

“There’s no news on Ben White. We’re interested in any international that we can bring back to Edinburgh, especially in a specialist position. But at this stage, there’s nothing,” he said.

 

Edinburgh’s currently injured players –

  • Charlie McCaig (knee) – Will undergo surgery and unlikely to return this season.
  • Rhys Litterick (achilles) – Has undergone surgery and unlikely to return this season.
  • Cammy Scott (hamstring) – Unlikely to be available this weekend.
  • Ross Thompson (toe) – Unlikely to be available this weekend.
  • Matt Currie (vertigo) – Continues to recover. No confirmed date for return to full training (not concussion related).
  • Darcy Graham (ankle) – Expected back next week.
  • Dylan Richardson (back) – Out until early October.
  • Callum Hunter-Hill (back) – Out until early October.
  • Ben Muncaster (back) – Out until mid-October.
  • Rob Carmichael (wrist) – Out until late October.
  • Connor Boyle (knee) – Expected to return to training in November.
  • Mosese Tuipulotu (knee) – Expected to return to training in December.