Gloucester’s rugby director, George Skivington, has confirmed that rising prop star Afolabi Fasogbon will miss Sunday’s Gallagher Premiership round nine trip to Exeter, but he is still unsure about the extent of Val Rapava-Ruskin’s injury.
Still only 20 years of age, Fasogbon has turned in several strong scrummaging performances this season, notably waving off Ellis Genge after edging a titanic battle with the Bristol loosehead, and has been tipped for the very top.
However, the England U20 tighthead will play no part in the Sandy Park clash as Gloucester seek a fourth straight league win after injuring his ankle in Friday night’s 14-0 win over Harlequins.
“It was just one of those where you get caught underneath a body, and a bit of bad luck,” Skivington said, recalling the incident.
“He’s off for scans today so, hopefully, we’ll have a good read on what’s going on in the next couple of days, as long as we can get the scans and get them to the surgeons.
“Christmas week is not the ideal week to be chasing people or to be asking people to be looking at this stuff. He won’t be playing this week, unfortunately.”
In contrast, Val Rapava-Ruskin withdrew from the Harlequins game due to a flare-up in his knee during the warm-up.
It is the second time this season that the 32-year-old has been withdrawn from the Cherry & Whites’ starting XV at the eleventh hour, and Skivington admitted during Monday afternoon’s media session that it is a frustrating situation.
“I’ve had a chat with Val this morning, we just need to get to the bottom of it really. It is frustrating because I feel like Val is in really good condition, his performances have been getting progressively better and it just feels like a little bump in the road.
Speaking with everyone present, we feel fairly sure, and they are experimenting today to see whether a small intervention may make a difference. We cannot have people coming and going because that is simply not conducive to preparedness. There isn’t much more we can do, which is quite aggravating.
Positively, Ciaran Knight, a talented prop who filled in for Rapava-Ruskin, has impressed Skivington with his development.
Skivington thinks that the 26-year-old Gloucester native’s poor play is partly due to the fact that he missed Sharks’ loss in the European Challenge Cup final the previous year.
“Ciaran has performed admirably, in my opinion. Last year, he narrowly missed out on playing in that European final. We thought the first row would be a very difficult location, so we hedged our bets and made a mistake when we had some illness in the front row the week of the final. I would play Ciaran and give him the experience if I could go back in time.
“But I think he has come back in this year slightly different, he’s come back in with a bit of an edge. I think he wants to prove a point. He is a very good rugby player and a very intelligent individual and a very skilful player. The good thing about Ciaran is he can play loose, and tight, and he can pick up information really well. I think he has come of age this season and is really thriving.”
