Lana Skeldon admits it will be a “day-to-day thing” in terms of how quickly her ankle injury heals, but she is going to give it her “best shot” to play a part in Scotland’s Women’s Rugby World Cup opener versus Wales in just over a fortnight.
The 32-strong Scotland squad for the showpiece event was named in St Andrews on Thursday.
Leading into the announcement, there were doubts that hooker Skeldon, 31, was going to make it after she suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s 27-21 Summer Test defeat to Ireland in Cork.
She seemed to be screaming in pain in the first half before being taken off to hospital for X-rays, but the Bristol Bears player, who first played for her country in 2011, is made of stern stuff.
As she gets set to head to a second World Cup after New Zealand in 2022, Skeldon said: “It was definitely a very painful injury.
“I just got caught awkwardly in a tackle and my foot got stuck underneath.
“I’m here and I’m being looked after by the best medics, and we’re just going to see how the next few weeks go.
I don’t think it’s for me or anyone to put a date on it, but I am in the best hands with, in particular, Flo [Laing] our physio.
“We’ll just see how it goes, but obviously I am feeling much more positive than I was expecting to be because it wasn’t great when it happened.
“I’m happy to be here. I didn’t think I would be standing on the beach [for the squad photos] so I’m just happy to be here and I’ll take it day by day and see how I get on.
“It’s just going to be a day-by-day thing. Like any injury, to be fair, you just never really know until you’re literally back on the pitch, but I’ve got the best medical team around me I could ask for.”
The event in England runs from August 22 to September 27 and the Scotland pool matches are against Wales in Manchester on August 23, Fiji in Manchester on August 30 and Canada in Exeter on September 6.
With just over two weeks until that Wales game it might be tricky for Skeldon to get back in time, but with fellow hooker Elis Martin an injury concern too, the medical team will be working around the clock to get the former fit.
“I’ve only got two weeks until Wales so it’s a tight turnaround, but I’ll give it my best shot,” Skeldon continued.
“I’m a pretty resilient person, so we’ll see how I go over the next couple of weeks. I will need to train, but just now it’s all about settling the pain down and managing that and then I can get back on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Head coach Bryan Easson is pleased to have the experienced player from Hawick in the group and seems to think she will be ‘good to go’ against the Welsh stating: “She is available which is amazing, if you look at the injury at the time [when it happened] we were all worried, but she was taken to hospital and was in good hands straight away.
“She had an MRI scan and then has been dealt with by [orthopaedic surgeon] John McKinley and he has looked at her and, yeah, she is available for the Wales game so we are obviously delighted with that.
“She has recovered well from injuries well in the past, she had an injury that we felt might keep her out the Six Nations, but her ability to recover and her diligence around her rehab is great.
“We are delighted to have her available.”
Scotland Women’s Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards: Leah Bartlett, Becky Boyd, Sarah Bonar, Elliann Clarke, Lisa Cockburn, Eva Donaldson, Evie Gallagher, Adelle Ferrie, Jade Konkel, Rachel Malcolm (C), Elis Martin, Rachel McLachlan, Molly Poolman, Lana Skeldon, Alex Stewart, Emma Wassell, Molly Wright, Anne Young.
Backs: Leia Brebner-Holden, Beth Blacklock, Rhea Clarke, Coreen Grant, Rhona Lloyd, Caity Mattinson, Francesca McGhie, Helen Nelson, Emma Orr, Hannah Ramsay, Chloe Rollie, Lisa Thomson, Hannah Walker, Evie Wills.
Lana Skeldon is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby
From August 7 until September 30, GH Media will be following the Scotland World Cup journey all of the way. We will be at all of the Scotland matches down south and will be bringing you all of the interviews and news from camp as well as taking a wider look at the tournament as a whole and its impact on the women’s game. Thanks to Quirky Chocolate and other supporters for allowing this content to happen and to readers for engaging with it.