GREGOR Townsend has named his Scotland squad for the Six Nations.

Captain Greig Laidlaw is included despite struggling with injury problems, while Richie Gray and Duncan Taylor also return after missing the autumn internationals with knocks.

Number eight David Denton and props Jon Welsh and Gordon Reid have earned re-calls and veteran hooker Scott Lawson has been picked having not represented Scotland since 2014.

Edinburgh youngster Blair Kinghorn has been called up for the first time, with his teammate Mark Bennett coming straight back into the mix after recently recovering from long-term injury.

Kinghorn is one of four uncapped players in the squad, along with club teammates Murray McCallum and Nathan Fowles as well as Glasgow's D'arcy Rae.

There is no space for the likes of Josh Strauss or Tom Visser, while Edinburgh's Luke Crosbie and Darcy Graham have been invited to train with the group along with Glasgow's Adan Hastings.

John Barclay will continue as captain having taken on the role in the absence of the injured Laidlaw during last year's championship.

“It’s a bigger squad than we originally planned –which is largely down to the competition for places – with a number of players having performed well in the Autumn Tests and a few others putting their hands up for selection in recent weeks," said Townsend.

“We welcome Blair Kinghorn into our group for the first time, who has been in excellent form with Edinburgh this season, and also three of our most experienced players in Richie Gray, Greig Laidlaw and Scott Lawson.

“We are looking forward to working with them and the rest of the squad to ensure that we build on the momentum the players generated in 2017.”