Glasgow Warriors confirm key trio likely to miss Munster URC opener as Jamie Ritchie debut timeline provided

Glasgow Warriors will likely be without three key players plus new signing Jamie Ritchie for their 2026/27 United Rugby Championship opener away to Munster this weekend.

The game appears to have come too soon for captain Kyle Steyn as well as fellow Scotland internationals Zander Fagerson and Alex Samuel. All three picked up knocks while playing with the national side in the summer but should be ready to return to the field of play in the coming weeks.

However, it’s a different story for new Scotstoun arrival Ritchie, who Warriors supporters may have to wait slightly longer to see in action. Attack coach Nigel Carolan provided an update on the squad going into the season opener at Thomond Park this Saturday.

Alex Samuel, Kyle Steyn and Zander Ferguson all likely to miss Glasgow’s URC opener at Munster

He said: “A few of returning internationals, guys like Alex Samuel, Kyle Steyn and Zander Ferguson, all picked up knocks on tour and we're in no rush to force them back in. So they'll all be integrated in the next few weeks.

“He [Ritchie] came to us on the back of an issue with syndesmosis on his ankle. He also had little complications around his Achilles, so they've all been mended. I think he's working his way back, it will probably be in the next few weeks. Hopefully, he'll be back before the November break.

“He's on target for then but he might be a little bit sooner. It's just a slower process because there were two little complications there, with both his ankle and also his Achilles.

“But he's tracking well, it's difficult when you join a club as well and he just wants to contribute on the field. At the moment, it's just in meetings and he's sitting back and trying to learn how we do things. It's tough for him because he just wants to get going.”

Glasgow opted not to involve most of their international players in either of their two pre-season friendlies against Newcastle Red Bulls and Bath. Instead, head coach Franco Smith elected to give some valuable game time to their younger talents who are vying for more regular first team chances.

The players who were away with Scotland will be reintroduced over the first few games of the new season with Carolan adding: “It's very much around management and it's on an individual basis. Obviously, Franco and Gregor Townsend are in close alignment of who they want to see playing over the next few weeks.

“There's a number of guys there that have a high number of minutes, even on the back of last year. They'll try and put maybe a special priority on some guys over others.

“Guys like Zander Ferguson and Sione Tuipulotu, they've played a lot of rugby. Right through to the Six Nations, they've played a lot of games for us and were involved for most of the Nations Cup as well during the summer.

“So, everyone's going to be managed over the next few weeks. We hope again to see a few guys take the field this week and then over the next couple of weeks, we'll try and drip-feed everybody else in.”

Long wait for former Edinburgh man to make Glasgow debut goes on after pre-season ‘set back’

Another player who has had a ‘set back’ in pre-season is Charlie Savala. The former Edinburgh utility back, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, is another who won’t be in the squad that travels to Limerick.

“Again, just managing the load,” explained Carolan. “It wasn't on his knee that had surgery.

“He ramped up his rehab over the summer there, it just had a negative effect on his opposite knee. He's close to returning, we'll hopefully see him in the next couple of weeks.”

The former Connacht coach also stated that he has no concerns around players returning to action in such a physical fixture having not had a run out in pre-season. However, he conceded that it may take them two to three matches before they are really able to hit their stride as a team this season.

He said: “If you see any of our training sessions, it's sometimes not far off match intensity, certainly the speed of training is up there. We try to make sure that there's an element of physicality there that preps players for the weekend.

“We don't expect it to be perfect, it won't be over the next couple of games, we expect that by game three, we should be able to hit our straps. We're not necessarily looking for perfection, we're just looking for an effective performance and one that's fitting of the club and the players that we'll take to the field.”

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