By Graham Bean

Copyright scotsman

Edinburgh Rugby hope to have Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Pierre Schoeman available for the first match of the United Rugby Championship season. The Scotland trio won’t play any part in this Friday’s friendly double header against Doncaster Knights and Ealing Trailfinders but are on course to return for the club’s URC opener against Zebre in Italy on September 27. All three played for the British and Irish Lions during the summer tour of Australia, with Graham called up late after playing for Scotland on their Pacific tour. The former Hawick winger suffered an ankle injury in his sole Lions appearance, against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne, but is recovering well. It was suggested last week that the second round of the URC was a more likely return date for Graham but he is now expected to resume training with Edinburgh this week. Edinburgh’s fourth Lion, hooker Ewan Ashman, is expected to play on Friday against Ealing. “Pierre, Duhan and Darcy won’t be involved this weekend, but we’re hoping that they’re up for selection next week,” said Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach. Regarding Graham, he added: “Our target was to get him back on the field for the first URC game. We weren’t going to rush things if he wasn’t 100 per cent. But he’s coming through rather quickly now and he’ll be joining parts of our training on Thursday.” Having all three available for the start of the new campaign would provide a significant fillip for Edinburgh who do not have their troubles to seek elsewhere in terms of injuries. An update released by the club on Monday listed 11 players who are currently sidelined, the most serious of whom is tighthead prop Rhys Litterick who ruptured his Achilles tendon in last Friday’s friendly defeat by Ulster in Belfast. Charlie McCaig, the centre, injured his knee in the match and the club are awaiting results of scans on both players but Litterick will almost certainly be ruled out for a considerable period. Both players joined the club in the summer, from Exeter Chiefs and Cardiff, respectively. “It’s a bit of a coach’s nightmare when you’re going to a friendly and you have two serious injuries like that,” said Everitt. “Unfortunately, Rhys Litterick has an Achilles rupture. Obviously, we’ll get the surgeon’s opinion first and follow the necessary medical processes and we’ll decide from there.” Everitt said there were no plans at this stage to sign another prop given the club have four other tightheads in Paul Hill, D’Arcy Rae, Angus Williams and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty. Blyth-Lafferty is just 19 but has been training with the senior Edinburgh squad and, while he won’t be rushed into the team, Everitt has been impressed by the Scotland Under-20 prop’s progress. “Yes, we’re happy where Ollie is from a set-piece point of view,” he said. “I suppose it’s how you blood him into the senior system and who he scrums with. “He’s been training with the senior group, and that’s for him to get accustomed to the intensity and obviously the movement that is required from him at this level. “We all know that he has potential, and it’s a great opportunity for him to step up now, knowing that there’s a possibility that he might get an opportunity this year.” The others on the Edinburgh injured list are: Tom Dodd (calf), out until mid-September; Ben Healy (knee), out until late September; 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 and Mosese Tuipulotu (knee), expected to return to training in December.