Simon Taylor, the Scotland No 8 who has missed all the autumn matches with a calf injury, is poised to make his international comeback against Canada on Saturday. The Stade Français player trained with the squad yesterday and came through without any trouble.

That was the one piece of good news for Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, when he sat down with his assistants last night to select the side for the Aberdeen match. He still has a lengthy injury list and had to call a further eight players into the training group yesterday to cover the bumps and bruises left over from facing South Africa on Saturday.

To add to Hadden’s problems, after his side missed four penalties and a dropped-goal attempt last weekend, he still does not know whether he will have Chris Paterson, his main kicker, available after he was forced out of the Springbok game with a damaged cheek. The player is not due to be checked again until tomorrow but has stayed with the training party and is not ruled out yet.

Paterson, however, was one of seven players unable to take part in a light training session on the main pitch at Murrayfield yesterday. He was joined by Thom Evans, Jim Hamilton, Allister Hogg, Rory Lamont, Euan Murray and Jason White.

To cover the gaps, the group that has been together for the past three weeks was joined by eight players from the Scotland A side who thrashed Georgia last Friday. In the backs, Simon Webster, Nikki Walker, Mark Robertson, who are all wings, plus Rob Dewey and Max Evans, both centres, were called in. Among the forwards the additions were Geoff Cross at prop, Alastair Kellock, the lock, and Kelly Brown, the flanker.

None are expected to feature in the group for Saturday, but the disruption has had its effect on the team’s ability to prepare for Saturday.

Not only were they unable to do any real contact work at the Murrayfield session yesterday, but Hadden might have to find himself naming a side today with a few positions yet to be confirmed and players not able to take a full role in practice until late in the week.

In that context, to have at least one player heading in the opposite direction was a welcome sight, and Taylor, who was the original selection at No 8 against New Zealand but was forced to drop out 48 hours before the match, gives him even more options in the crucial back-row battle.