MANY Scotland supporters dream of playing for the national team, but surely no player has ever longed to be a spectator, watching on from the sidelines or at home rather than being in the thick of the action. Injured players, in particular, are never the best watchers of games – but Ryan Wilson is possibly just that little bit more frustrated than most.

The Glasgow Warriors forward had to sit out the match against France because of illness, and although he might have been fit enough on the day of the game to go to Paris and watch live, he went through his usual routine in front of the television. “The kids have to be removed from the living room and I’m left on my own screaming and shouting at the TV,” he explained when asked how relaxed he feels watching Scotland games. “I scream mindless stuff.”

It was a wonder that Wilson had the energy to scream at all after being laid low by an infected cut in his arm. Sometimes players are sidelined only to prevent others being infected, but in this case the 27-year-old needed a course of antibiotics and several days’ rest from training.

“I couldn’t have played last week. I had an infection in the blood – it wasn’t something that would have got other people ill, but I was suffering from it all week. The doc was not happy.

“I got cut on my arm, banged my forearm and the bug got in through the cut and the bleeding inside spread really quickly. I woke up the next morning with a pretty swollen elbow.

“I didn’t travel to Paris. I felt quite good Sunday morning but it wasn’t worth risking it. I could have played maybe, but I would have felt even worse this week.”

Wilson began training again eight days ago and should be named today in Vern Cotter’s Scotland team to take on Wales on Saturday in the third round of the Six Nations Championship. It is a timely return, as his Warriors back-row team-mate Josh Strauss has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with kidney damage.

“We have plenty of players who can fill in for him, but I’m gutted for Straussy,” Wilson added. “I thought he played really well. To take that knock and play 80 minutes, I thought he did really well. It was one of his best games in a Scotland jersey.

“He’s a great player when he gets going forward.”

Wilson was taking nothing for granted when asked what he thought Cotter’s back row would be to face Wales, but it looks likely that he will play at No 8, with John Barclay at 6 and Hamish Watson at openside with John Hardie on the bench. “If I have to step up I’m happy to carry the ball, and we’ve plenty of players in the back row who can take that responsibility. You’ve seen Hamish wriggle out of tackles in the last two games. Barclay is a good carrier, and you have Hardie, who’s similar to big Straussy in that he’s a big ball-carrier and abrasive.”

Wilson expects Wales to present a similar challenge to Ireland, not offloading out of the tackle as much as the French like to do, but instead trying to gain ground by battering away at the defence then recycling from the ruck.

“Ireland defensively was a big ask of us. Wales will be similar. We’ll be defending for long periods.”