GLASGOW utility back Pete Horne could miss the whole of next year’s Six Nations Championship after needing surgery on an ankle injury. The 27-year-old will be out of action for up to 16 weeks according to a statement from the Warriors - though coach Gregor Townsend is hopeful of a quicker return.

“Peter works really hard generally, but even more so when he’s rehabbing injuries - unfortunately he’s had a few over the last couple of years,” Townsend said yesterday. “So he’ll be looking to get that down from 16 weeks.”

Scotland’s last Six Nations game is on 18 March at home to Italy, which is 14 weeks on Saturday. Horne picked up the injury in last week’s PRO12 defeat by Munster at Scotstoun and also damaged a knee in that match.

Warriors winger Rory Hughes has also undergone surgery after injuring a knee in the same PRO12 match against Munster. He is expected to be out of action for eight weeks.

Glasgow return to Champions Cup pool action at the weekend when they play Racing 92 in Paris, and Townsend has rejigged his official squad for the tournament to take account of recent injuries. Horne and Italian international winger Leonardo Sarto, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, have both been left out of the squad of 41. Lock forward Brian Alaiunu’uese and stand-off Rory Clegg have been brought into the group to replace them.

Both Horne and Sarto can be reintroduced later in the campaign. They could swap back with the men who have come in instead of them, or they could be two of the three additions to the squad allowed for the quarter-finals.

While Townsend has to wait and hope that Horne and Hughes are back sooner rather than later, several other members of his squad are close to making a return after injury. Back-row forward Adam Ashe is making a gradual return to full training, while locks Tjiuee Uanivi, Scott Cummings and Greg Peterson plus centre Richie Vernon should be back in action early in the New Year.

Meanwhile, centre Alex Dunbar is looking forward to getting back in the team at the weekend after being rested last week because he had played in Scotland’s Autumn Tests. “The Georgia game was really physical, so it took my body a few days to get back to normal,” he said.

“It’s good to have a few days to let things settle down. By the weekend it will be good and I’m looking forward to getting back into it.”

Dunbar missed out on last year’s away defeat against Racing because of a hamstring injury, but he was back in the side for the home win at Rugby Park so has first-hand knowledge of how tough a team they are. “They’ve not been performing at the high level they have been in previous years, but they’re a quality team with top-class individuals, so we fully expect them to turn it on and for it to be a great game.

“They have a massive forward pack and they want to get these boys into the game. With the ball-carriers they want to get over the gainline and into second and third phase. We know how big a task it will be, but we have to go out there and play our game.”

Townsend will name his team tomorrow, and is expected to include key men such as Stuart Hogg, Jonny Gray and Finn Russell. They, like Dunbar, were rested last week. The Warriors’ next home game is the return match against Racing a week tomorrow.