Dunbar to continue recovery in US

Scotland centre Alex Dunbar is heading to the United States to continue his race to be fit for the World Cup.

Dunbar ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament hours before he was due to travel to England for the Calcutta Cup match in March, but has not given up hope of being fit for Scotland's opener against Japan on September 23.

The 25-year-old Glasgow back will travel to Philadelphia on Monday for a three-week camp with knee rehabilitation expert Bill Knowles and aims to join up with the Scotland squad following his return.

The Scottish Rugby Union's head of performance medical, Paul McGinley, said: "We're pleased to say that Alex remains on schedule at this stage and that, 14 weeks down the line, he is now in the right place for this trip to the States.

"Evidence suggests that the earliest you could expect somebody to safely recover from ACL reconstruction is around six months, and that is tight; but that's the timescale to which we're working if he is to feature in the Rugby World Cup.

"That's been the focus from the start. We're doing everything we can to give him the best chance of keeping to that timeline and making the competition, while paying close attention to his long-term welfare.

"There's another, crucial, rehabilitation phase coming up, with the view to getting him game-time before the World Cup, providing we can stick to the recovery schedule."