Smith and Furbank ruled out as Harlequins face injury crisis for Bath opener

Harlequins will be without England fly-half Marcus Smith and new signing George Furbank for their Premiership season opener against Bath at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday, head coach Jason Gilmore has confirmed. James Lang and loosehead prop Finn Baxter are also ruled out, leaving Quins with a significant injury list before a ball has been kicked in anger.

Smith sustained a hand injury during pre-season and Gilmore says a final decision on his availability will be made later in the week, though the prognosis appears uncertain. Furbank, who joined the club this summer, suffered a head injury on his very first carry against Edinburgh and is currently working through return-to-play protocols, with a return pencilled in for the Gloucester fixture.

“The poor bugger got that head knock in his first carry of the game,” Gilmore said of Furbank. “He won’t play this week and is just going through his HIA protocols and is on track to be back for Gloucester. It’s probably more disappointing than anything.”

Lang, who returned to Harlequins this summer, is also unavailable after picking up a head injury of his own, while Baxter remains a couple of weeks away from fitness following a foot operation.

Despite the disruption, Gilmore expressed confidence in the players set to fill the void, singling out fly-half Connor Slavin and Josh Bellamy as men ready to seize their opportunity.

“I’ve been so impressed with Connor from the time I’ve stepped into the building,” Gilmore said. “He’s almost that old-school style of 10 — he doesn’t get flustered and has a great skill set. He’s probably just needed a little bit of confidence and belief in him that he’s a guy that we want here at the club.”

Gilmore was equally enthusiastic about Slavin’s prospects of catching opponents off guard. “Slev’s the guy I’m looking at the moment. He could fall under the radar a little bit and surprise a few people. He’s had a great pre-season and played really well against Northampton, so I think he’d be ready to go.”

The match against Bath gives Harlequins an early opportunity to gauge where they stand in the Premiership pecking order, though Gilmore will be hoping his walking wounded return swiftly as the campaign gathers pace.