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Rugby Union

Hall to miss World Cup

25/07/2007

Scotland hooker Dougie Hall has been ruled out of the upcoming Rugby World Cup because of a knee injury he sustained in training.

The 26-year-old has torn the medial ligament in his left knee, which has also caused additional damage to the joint, meaning he will be out of action for at least three months.

Uncapped Fergus Thomson, 23, who is a team-mate of Hall's at Glasgow Warriors, has replaced him in the squad.

"Following the injury at training, we arranged for Dougie to go for a scan, the results of which we received last night," Scotland team doctor James Robson said.

"The scan confirmed our initial diagnosis that he has torn his medial ligament and sustained some additional minor damage to the joint.

"We will now embark on further assessment and treatment but the average recovery time for this type of injury is 12 to 16 weeks."

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden added: "It's obviously disappointing news for Dougie and I wish him a speedy recovery.

"He has made enormous progress in the last couple of years and been integral to the national squad in that time."

Hall, who recently transferred from the Edinburgh Gunners back to Glasgow, has won 19 caps for Scotland and was a regular starter in the Six Nations campaign earlier this year.

He was part of the 30-man squad that travelled to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, but he failed to force his way into a match-day 22.

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